The Uttar Pradesh Police arrested six persons, including two women, on July 4 in connection with the stampede at a religious gathering in Hathras that left 121 people dead.
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The arrested persons were part of the committee that organised the satsang of preacher Narayan Sakar Hari alias Bhole Baba, who was not named in the first information report (FIR).
The police also announced a reward of ₹1 lakh for information on Devprakash Madhukar, the alleged main accused of the incident. He was a follower of Bhole Baba and collected funds for events of the preacher, the police said.
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Speaking about the arrests, Shalabh Mathur, Inspector-General of Police, Aligarh Range said police teams have been formed to search for persons who were part of the organising committee of the satsang, across U.P. and outside.
“Our teams arrested six persons identified as Rahbari Singh Yadav, Bhupendar Singh Yadav, Megh Singh, Manju Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, and Manju Devi, who all were volunteers and fled from the spot after the stampede,” Mr. Mathur said.
The official also informed that the persons who were arrested had handled all responsibilities for the religious event, including crowd management and collection of funds.
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“Their job was to manage everything related to satsang, including power supply, tents, parking arrangements, etc. All was being done by these volunteers. The arrested persons told us that the followers of Bhole Baba feel blessed to collect his charan raj [soil under his feet]. On the day of the stampede, volunteers initially controlled the crowd when the convoy of the preacher left the satsang site but later, they failed to manage the people who pushed their way to collect the soil, leading to the stampede,” Mr. Mathur informed.
He further said that police and administrative officials reached at the stampede site soon after getting information and all assistance was provided to those in need. He also said that apart from the ₹1 lakh reward, a non-bailable warrant will be issued against Mr. Madhukar.
Mr. Mathur said that all 121 bodies have been identified and handed over to the families after completion of required formalities and post-mortem.
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When was asked if the preacher, said to be a former policeman whose real name is Suraj Pal, would be interrogated in the case, the official said that interrogation will be done if required during the course of investigation.
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“We got to know about a criminal case lodged against the preacher in Agra. There was acquittal in that case. We are trying to find out if there are previous criminal cases against him and his followers in different States and cities. We will keep interrogating and arresting people as and when new names and information crop up,” Mr. Mathur said.
The official ended the press conference amid questions about the police neither arresting nor interrogating Bhole Baba even though he was the main speaker of the event and the crowd had gathered to see him.
Meanwhile, Bhole Baba on Wednesday issued a statement blaming “anti-social elements” for the incident.
Bhole Baba or Narayan Sakar Hari, son of a farmer, reportedly left his job as a policeman over two decades ago. While reports claimed he owned properties in Mainpuri, Etawah, Agra, Kanpur and many other districts of U.P., advocate A.P. Singh, who legally represents the preacher, told The Hindu that he never asks for money from followers nor does he engage in any publicity for himself.