'Bhole Baba didn't allow photos to be clicked, kept phones of devotees': NCW chief on Hathras stampede

National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma on Wednesday visited the site of the stampede that killed 121 people in Hathras.

The incident took place during the Satsang held by Suraj Pal, also known as Bhole Baba, near GT Road in the Phulrai Mugalgarhi village in the Hathras.

Sharma told reporters that she has heard that all the irregularities were caused by the 'sevak'. Follow live updates of the Hathras stamped here.

“I spoke with the Police and they too said that they have registered an FIR against. I have said that whoever that Guru was, an FIR should be registered against him...He didn't click photos so that he couldn't come to the front and no evidence could come up. He used to make people deposit their phones. So, there is certainly something wrong. Police will investigate and find out if it was a pre-conceived scheme. It is a matter of concern that most of the deceased were women.”

Sharma further said that it was easier to mislead these women as most of them were illiterate.

"It was easier to mislead these women as they were illiterate. We need to make women aware of such Gurus...We will counsel women in the time to come to beware of such so-called godmen. We have sought a detailed report of the action taken from administration..."

Also Read | Hathras stampede: ‘Bhole Baba’ not named in FIR; 2.5 lakh people gathered at satsang 

The stampede took place on Tuesday when thousands of people gathered at a specially laid tent in the Rati Bhanpur village in the Sikandra Rau area of Hathras district for a ‘Satsang’, an event organised by a religious preacher, Bhole Baba.

The stampede started soon after the women rushed out of the venue after the religious congregation of religious preacher Bhole Baba ended.

Gopal Kumar, an eyewitness, told Hindustan Times that the gathering ended around 2pm. “He [the Baba] entered and exited the site from a designated route, bypassing the gathering of women, men, and children. There were vehicles all around and a portion of the highway was almost jammed with devotees and vehicles,” said Kumar.

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

He said as the Baba’s vehicle reached the highway, hundreds of devotees rushed towards his car for charan dhul (dust of his feet) and to get his blessings. “A huge crowd rushed towards the highway and many of them could not climb up and slipped… as devotees fell, others rushing towards the highway did not bother and crushed them under their feet while trying to follow the Baba’s car. This led to the stampede and those who fell could not get up… they died and many of these were women.”