No planning by police, admin: Judicial panel points out lapses

Possibility of criminal conspiracy may not be ruled out, SIT probe would be prudent to look into criminal aspects, says judicial commission and observes 'sevadars' and organisers tried to cover up and fled

- Umesh Raghuvanshi

[e-mail] LUCKNOW: A three-member judicial inquiry commission has failed to nail preacher Suraj Pal alias Bhole Baba directly for lapses that claimed 121 lives in a stampede at Hathras on July 2, 2024 after a religious congregation.

The commission has, however, observed that the evidence indicated towards people being misled and "andhvishwas" (superstition) and "kuritiyan" (evil practices) being spread at the venue of the Bhole Baba's Satsang.

It has pointed out serious lapses in police/administrative arrangements for crowd management, observing that the organisers stopped the police/administration from performing their duties and possibilities of a criminal conspiracy to defame the government or gaining some benefits may not be ruled out and an inquiry by SIT would be legally prudent to seriously probe the criminal aspects.

The commission has recommended that the Uttar Pradesh government should consider enacting a law providing for stringent punishment and heavy penalties to effectively check and end "bhram" (delusion), "Mayajaal" (illusion), "andhvishwas" (superstition) and "kuritiyan" (evil practices).

The commission headed by Justice (retired) Brajesh Kumar Srivastava has made these observations in its 1,670-page report that the state government tabled in the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly here on Wednesday.

The incident took place on July 2, 2024 at Fulrai Mughalgarhi village under the Sikandararau police station of Hathras district.

The commission was constituted on July 3, 2024. Former IAS officer Hemant Rao and former IPS officer Bhavesh Kumar Singh were the members.