Tragedy at Hindu religious gathering: over 120 dead in stampede

Many women and children among the victims. There were more than 10,000 at the event of Bhole Baba, a former policeman turned preacher who gathers large crowds. At the origin of the chaos was a sandstorm but - according to witnesses - also the behaviour of the cleric's security service. Lucknow Bishop Gerard Mathias: "I pray for the victims and that such tragedies will not be repeated".

Lucknow (AsiaNews) - At least 121 people are confirmed dead in the tragic outcome of the tragedy that occurred yesterday in the city of Sikandra Rao, in the district of Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, after a stampede among a crowd at a Satsang (a religious event), attended by more than 10 thousand people. The victims were mostly women and children.

Chaitra V., Divisional Commissioner of the city of Aligarh, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, said that the participants were leaving the venue of the event when a dust storm blinded them, causing the crowd to throng and the subsequent tragic incident. The State Medical Officer, Umesh Kumar Tripathi, told reporters that 'many injured' had been hospitalised.

According to some accounts, part of the blame lies with the attendants of Bhole Baba (pictured), the Hindu preacher who led the ritual; they allegedly prevented people from leaving the place in the heat and humidity, so that the preacher and his entourage could leave first. When the crowd was finally allowed to leave, chaos broke out, leading to tragedy.

Suraj Pal, or Bhole Baba, as he is called by his followers, hails from Bahadur Nagar in the Patiyali area of Kasganj district. He left his job in the state police 17 years ago to become a preacher. Despite the fact that his following extends beyond Uttar Pradesh to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, both the preacher and his acolytes maintain a distrust of the media.

According to one devotee, Bhole Baba had no religious mentor and, shortly after his voluntary retirement from service, he allegedly had a 'vision' of divinity. Since then he has become inclined to spiritual activities. He holds his Satsangs every Tuesday and, before Hathras, had held a similar event in the Mainpuri district last week. In May 2022, during the time of the Covid 19 pandemic, he had stirred controversy because after seeking permission for a religious gathering of 50 people in Farrukhabad district, the congregation had grown to over 50,000. The affair had created serious embarrassment in the local government of Uttar Pradesh, which is led by the Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath, one of the most prominent members of the BJP, PM Narendra Modi's party.

The prime minister announced that the next of kin of each person who lost his or her life would receive 200,000 rupees (about 2,200 euro) from the National Relief Fund, while the injured would receive 50,000 rupees (550 euro).

Commenting on the tragedy, Bishop Gerard Mathias, of the Catholic diocese of Lucknow, told AsiaNews: "It was indeed a tragic event that took place in the Hathras district during a Satsang. I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the eternal repose of the dead. I pray and wish that such tragedies will not happen again. And that all those involved take appropriate measures to prevent them".

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