Did suffocation lead to Hathras stampede? What police, eyewitnesses say

At least 107 people, mostly women, were killed in a stampede at a religious event in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on Tuesday.

The incident took place at Rati Bhanpur village, where a preacher named Bhole Baba had organised a satsang (religious meeting).

Those dead or unconscious were brought to the Sikandara Rao Trauma Centre stuffed in trucks and other vehicles.

An eyewitness told news agency PTI that the stampede took place when devotees started to leave the venue after the ‘satsang’.

Sikandra Rao police station’s SHO, Ashish Kumar, said the stampede occurred due to overcrowding.

The Uttar Pradesh government said that an FIR will be registered against the organisers of the event.

“The loss of lives in the unfortunate accident in Hathras district is extremely sad and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved family,” Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath wrote on X.

Inspector General (Aligarh Range) Shalabh Mathur said the satsang meeting was organised by Bhole Baba, a religious preacher.

The officer said the meeting was organised inside a closed tent. He said that the stampede took place because the devotees felt suffocated.

“It was the satsang meeting of Bhole Baba, a religious preacher. A temporary permission was granted for gathering at the spot on the border of Etah and Hathras district on Tuesday afternoon. It was a closed enclosure of tent and, prima facie, it seems that suffocation led to discomfort and those gathered ran here and there, leading to the stampede,” he said.

Jyoti, a teenager admitted to Etah’s district hospital, said the devotees tried to leave the premises in haste, leading to the stampede.

“There was a huge crowd gathered at the spot. It all happened when satsang ended and all were in haste to leave the enclosure. There was no way out and everybody fell on each other, and the stampede took place. When I tried to move out, there were motorcycles parked outside which blocked the way out,” she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu condoled the loss of lives.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav slammed the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government.

“We were inside the Lok Sabha when we received the information about the incident. The question is so many people died… what was the government doing? The government is responsible for the safety and security of people gathering on such a large scale. The government should help the families of those killed. We are hopeful that the government will provide good medical treatment to the injured,” he said.