A police report has revealed that around 250,000 people had gathered at a Hindu religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh where 121 people died in a crowd crush, more than triple the permitted capacity of 80,000. The deadly incident occurred on Tuesday at a satsang in Hathras district, attended by hundreds of thousands of devotees of self-styled guru Bhole Baba, also known as Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari.
Witnesses said the crush began after large numbers surged forward to touch the guru's feet and the ground where his car had been, considered holy by followers. Organisers used sticks to prevent people moving off the roads to safety. Heavy rain in preceding days had left fields muddy, causing people to slip and fall. The death toll rose to 121, with mostly women and children among the dead.
Rama Devi, 40, from Baghauli village in Jaipur, lost her 10-year-old nephew Ayush and five-year-old niece Kavya in the stampede. She said she had been attending the guru's events for seven years and that everything was normal until he left. 'People started pushing after Baba left. I was holding my nephew firmly but then people started falling on me, and I lost his grip,' she said. She accused police of failing to manage the event, stating they 'were just standing on the road and watching people die'.
A police report noted that 'due to the uncontrollable crowd leaving the venue, devotees sitting on the ground were crushed'. It added that the organising committee forcibly stopped the crowd with sticks, increasing pressure and causing people to be crushed. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered an investigation, alleging local organisers 'tried to cover up the incident'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said victims would be 'helped in every way'.
Police have registered cases against the organisers but did not name Baba Vishwa Hari. In a statement, the guru expressed condolences and blamed 'some anti-social elements' for the crush. He is a former police officer who has held such gatherings for years. Kuldeep Kumar, 30, a local shopkeeper, said three people died in a similar crush at one of his events 12 years ago.
Amit Kumar, 22, a farmer attending the satsang, described a suffocating tent even before the guru's brief sermon. 'As soon as his cars were leaving the venue, people started running towards the highway to collect the dirt where his car had been,' he said. 'It was so crowded that people could not save themselves and kept falling on each other. I was caught in a similar situation and literally walked over dozens of bodies.'
