The local administration allowed the ‘satsang’ in Hathras without inspecting the venue and police officers concerned took the event lightly and never informed their seniors about it, said the report of a two-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the stampede that left 121, including 113 women, dead.
The team, comprising additional director general of police (Agra zone) Anupam Kulshreshtha and divisional commissioner (Aligarh) Chaitra V, submitted the around 1,000-page report that does not mention the godman, Suraj Pal alias Narayan Sakar Hari, as an accused or responsible for the tragedy.
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Acting on the SIT report, the Uttar Pradesh government promptly suspended six officials - the sub-divisional magistrate, station officer, circle officer, tehsildar and two other officials of Sikandrarao.
The team had recorded the statements of 125 individuals, including officials from the administration and the police, the general public and eyewitnesses. Additionally, news articles about the incident, on-site videography, photographs and video clippings were reviewed.
“In the preliminary investigation, the two-member team held the event organisers responsible for the accident based on eyewitness accounts and other evidence. The organisers obtained permission for the event by concealing facts. The conditions applicable for the permission were not followed. They did not make adequate and smooth arrangements despite inviting an unexpected crowd, nor did they comply with the conditions set by the local administration for the programme,” the report said.
The report said the organising committee misbehaved with the police and attempted to prevent them from inspecting the venue. The ‘satsang‘ performers and the crowd were allowed to mingle without any security arrangements. “Despite the large crowd, no barricading or passage arrangements were made, and when the accident occurred, members of the organising committee fled the scene,” the report added.
The investigation committee has not ruled out the possibility of a conspiracy behind the stampede and has emphasised the need for a thorough investigation into the case in which police have arrested 11 persons till now.
