Days after 121 people were killed due to a stampede at a religious gathering in Hathras, advocate AP Singh has claimed that the mishap occurred after some unidentified men sprayed poison during the event.
Singh claimed that the group of conspirators fled the venue after causing the stampede.
“Unidentified men were carrying poisonous sprays…They ran while spraying the poisonous spray and it looked as a part of a pre-planned conspiracy…Many people lost their consciousness…I urge the Special Investigation Team to investigate who all are behind this incident,” Advocate AP Singh told ANI on July 6.
The incident took place at a religious ‘Satsang’ event of self-styled godman Suraj Pal, alias ‘Bhole Baba’, in Fulari village, Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, on July 2.
Meanwhile, Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the Hathras stampede incident, was sent to 14 days of judicial custody after being produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on July 6. The court inquired if he had written permission for the event and from whom it was obtained. Madhukar replied that he received permission from the SDM for a gathering of 80,000 people. When asked if the event was publicised, Madhukar denied doing so.
Notably, Devprakash Madhukar had been absconding, and a reward of Rs 1 lakh was announced for information leading to his arrest. He was finally apprehended on July 5 in the national capital. Additionally, two other accused, Ramprakash Shakya and Sanju Yadav, were also arrested, according to the police.
Earlier on July 6, ‘Bhole Baba’ broke his silence in connection with the case, stating that “those who created the chaos will not be spared.”
In a video statement, Suraj Pal, who also goes by the name of Narayan Sakar Hari, expressed his grief and condoled the deaths at the tragedy.
“I am deeply saddened by the incident of July 2. May God give us the strength to bear this pain. Please keep faith in the government and the administration. I have faith that those who created the chaos will not be spared. Through my lawyer AP Singh, I have requested the members of the committee to stand with the bereaved families and the injured and help them throughout their lives,” the ‘Baba’ said.
