Judicial panel probing Hathras stampede flags 'serious lapses'

A judicial commission investigating the death of nearly 120 people during a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district last year shied away from blaming controversial godman Suraj Pal or Bhole Baba for the tragedy but pointed to "serious lapses" by police, administration and organisers, and hinted at possibility of a conspiracy to "defame" the state government.

- Umesh Raghuvanshi

LUCKNOW:

The 1,670-page report tabled by the state government in the assembly on Wednesday rejected the theory — first floated by Pal's lawyers — that unidentified men spraying toxic gas led to the stampede. It said that the crowd at the venue was at least three times the sanctioned number (estimated number 80,000) but refused to name any individual or officer as responsible. It also refused to take a stand on the allegation of the police that Pal's call to his devotees to collect dust touched by his feet led to the rush that triggered the stampede.

"It's unlikely that some people sprayed toxic spray which caused the stampede-like situation. The statements of witnesses did not match with each other and it seemed like they all were instructed in a way to tell this story just to divert the investigation... The language used in affidavits is also quite similar. A similar affidavit was also given by the counsel of Bhole Baba, which he denied during investigation," said the report, written in Hindi.