Hathras stampede: Anxious relatives seek answers, whereabouts of missing kin

Thirsty and hungry Urmila Devi, 60, waited with bated breath at a community health centre until late Tuesday night to know the fate of her granddaughter Khushboo, 16, who went missing after the stampede at a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathra that left 116 people dead.

The injured and the bodies of those killed were initially rushed to the centre where 96 people were declared dead and 40 others were referred to separate hospitals. Urmila was among the anxious relatives at the centre who kept pleading with the overworked staff and doctors to tell them whether their loved ones were dead or alive.

“My granddaughter and I had gone to the satsang [religious congregation]. After the stampede, I somehow rushed out of the site but I could not find Khushboo… I came to the community health centre as police told me to find her name on the list of dead and injured,” said Urmila, a resident of Aligarh’s Atrauli.

Urmila kept waiting even as all the bodies were sent for autopsy and the injured were shifted to other health care facilities.

Sachin Kumar, a resident of Vrindavan, too, did the rounds of hospitals and police stations to find the whereabouts of his missing mother, Gayatri Devi, 45. “She left home on Tuesday morning for the satsang along with some neighbours. While all neighbours returned home by evening, my mother did not… They had no clues about my missing mother. Her name is not on the list of dead,” Kumar said at the district hospital in Hathras.

Maan Pal, a resident of Aligarh, said they looked for his missing sister-in-law Nidhi, 20, and her two-year-old son, who had gone to the religious gathering with her in-laws, in every ambulance that entered the district hospital.

“Her in-laws returned after the stampede but Nidhi did not. After hours of searching, we found her son had died. Nidhi is still missing… I am unable to understand if I grieve for the dead child or continue my search for Nidhi,” Pal said.

As Pal desperately looked for his kin, Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Mathura, tightly held the body of his mother, Kishan Devi, 45, on a stretcher at the district hospital. Devi’s body was handed over to Kumar after an autopsy around 2.30am on Wednesday.

Kumar said he started calling his mother after the news of the stampede broke. The calls initially went unanswered. Kumar’s worst fears came true when a policeman picked up the call and informed her of his mother’s death. “It is the responsibility of the government and all those who gave permissions for such a huge gathering. No compensation can bring back my mother and only those who lost their family members can understand my pain.”

Prema Devi, 55, and her five-year-old grandson were among the luckier ones. They survived the ordeal and were under treatment at the district hospital cramped for space with several beds stuffed in a small room for injured people.

Prema Devi said they were in shock. “I had gone to the satsang for the first time and this will last time.” She recalled the mad rush of the crowd running over people as they fell to the ground. “They were crying in pain but people wanted a glimpse of the godman. I do not know how I survived after I fell on the ground. I suffered multiple internal injuries.”

An official at the district hospital said 10 of the injured and 38 bodies were brought to the district hospital. “About 99% of the bodies were of women.”

The official said the devotees were trying to get a glimpse of the godman when many of them slipped before the stampede. “Others coming from behind walked over them leaving them dead. The bodies were taken for autopsy to Etah, Kasganj, Aligarh, Agra and Hathras.”