EXPLANATOR
At least 120 people were killed in a crushing crowd during a religious meeting with Hindu guru Bhole Baba.
At least 121 people, most of them women, were killed in a crushing crowd in India's Hathras district on Tuesday during a religious gathering of Hindu guru Bhole Baba.
Here's all we know about the incident that took place on Tuesday afternoon:
What happened in Hathras?
A crowd of 250,000 devotees of religious leader Suraj Pal, also known as Bhole Baba, gathered for a satsang (prayer meeting) in a village in Hathras on Tuesday. About 80,000 of them were allowed into a field that serves as the main venue for the prayer meeting.
Many people had gathered in a makeshift tent, built on a muddy patch of ground, where the prayer meeting was being held.
Bhole is a Dalit, a group of people who are at the bottom of India’s caste system. Many of his followers also belong to the so-called “lower castes” and are either women or poor.
Chaos erupted when Bhole walked off the stage and left the tent to get into his car after the prayer meeting.
Dozens of people ran from the store toward his car, trampling one another in an attempt to touch his feet or the ground he had stepped on, according to a police report filed later.
Many people died of suffocation in the collapse. Some also fell into a nearby mudhole and were crushed there.
Who are the victims?
- Some 121 people have died, Uttar Pradesh (UP) Education Minister Sandip Kumar Singh Lodhi confirmed on Wednesday.
- More than 80 people were injured and admitted to hospitals, said senior police officer Shalabh Mathur.
- The dead include 112 women, UP Police Chief Prashant Kumar said.
- So far, seven children have also been reported dead as a result of the incident, UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh told local media.
Where exactly did this happen?
- The crowd gathered at a rice field serving as the venue for the religious gathering, off a busy highway in Hathras district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), about 200 kilometres (125 miles) southeast of the national capital, New Delhi.
- Uttar Pradesh is known for its religious and cultural heritage, and is also a microcosm of India's religious divide between Hindus and Muslims. The Ram Temple was consecrated earlier this year in the city of Ayodhya, about 500 kilometres (311 miles) southeast of Hathras.
Why did the stampede at Hathras occur?
Overpopulation: Police had allowed 80,000 people into the rally, which was attended by about 250,000, according to a police report filed after the incident. It is not clear how many of them were inside the tent.
Lack of exits: Disaster management experts have speculated that the lack of adequate number of exits in the tent led to thousands of people trying to crowd through a single exit. “The function was held in a makeshift tent without ensuring multiple exit routes. Normally, there should be eight to 10 well-marked exits leading to open areas,” said Sanjay Srivastava, a disaster management expert who spoke to the AP. The event organised by Bhole Baba’s Sri Jagar Guru Baba organisation had been planned for two weeks, it was reported.
Slippery mud: Many people were also reported to have slipped on the muddy ground at the meeting venue, contributing to the crowding. Witnesses reported that it also began to rain on an already humid day, causing people to slip and fall.
How have the authorities responded?
- The police have filed a preliminary report against the organizers.
- Authorities do not know where Bhole Baba is and police have launched a search.
- UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrived in Hathras on Wednesday to meet the families of the victims.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X on Tuesday: “My thoughts are with the bereaved in Hathras. I pray for the injured. The Uttar Pradesh government is working to help those affected.”
My thoughts are with the bereaved in Hathras. I pray for the injured. The Uttar Pradesh government is working to help those affected. image.twitter.com/hAhD5xFD1M
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 2, 2024
Have crowd crushes happened before in India?
- Crowd clashes are quite common in India and many of them have occurred at religious gatherings.
- In January 2022Twelve people were killed and others injured after a crowd gathered at the Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir. The crowd had tried to enter the shrine through its narrow entrance.
- In October 2013About 115 people were killed and more than 100 injured during a Navratri celebration at the Ratangarh temple in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. The crowd was at least 150,000 strong. Navratri is a nine-day celebration of the goddess Durga.
- In February of 2013More than 100 million Hindu pilgrims gathered in Uttar Pradesh for the Kumbh Mela over two months. On the busiest day, at least 36 pilgrims died in a crush at a train station, prompting the festival's organiser, Mohammed Azam Khan, to resign “on moral grounds”.
- In March 2010At least 63 people have died in a crush caused by a crowd seeking free food at a Hindu temple in Uttar Pradesh. Half of the dead were children.
- In September 2008250 people were killed in a crush at the Chamundagar temple in Rajasthan during Navratri celebrations.
- In August 2008Rumours of a landslide sparked a crushing crowd at the mountaintop Naina Devi temple in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, killing about 145 Hindu pilgrims.
- In January 2005More than 265 Hindu devotees have died after a crush accident caused by slippery steps at the Mandhardevi temple in Maharashtra.
