The chief organizer of a religious gathering in northern India, where 121 people died in a stampede, has surrendered to police, according to his lawyer.
The incident, which occurred in Uttar Pradesh state last week, marks one of the deadliest disasters of its kind in India in over a decade.
Most of the victims were women and children attending the satsang, a Hindu religious gathering.
Chaos erupted at the end of the event when many attendees rushed towards the preacher as he was leaving in his car, leading to the tragic stampede.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage in India, prompting scrutiny of safety measures and crowd management protocols.
Earlier, police had arrested six individuals associated with organizing the event in Hathras district.
Later, Devprakash Madhukar, the main organizer, was apprehended in Delhi and handed over to Uttar Pradesh police. His lawyer, AP Singh, clarified that Madhukar had surrendered voluntarily.
“We informed you that we would surrender Devprakash Madhukar, bring him before the police, cooperate in the investigation, and participate in the inquiry,” Singh told ANI news agency.
“We have handed him over to the special investigation team and Uttar Pradesh police so that a thorough investigation can be conducted.”
Madhukar has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days and faces charges of attempted culpable homicide, according to a police complaint.
The complaint noted that authorities had permitted 80,000 attendees, but the actual turnout exceeded 250,000.
The police report indicated that the stampede occurred when thousands of devotees rushed towards the preacher’s vehicle, engaging in a ritual act of collecting dust from his path as a sign of devotion.
However, Singh denied responsibility and blamed “anti-social elements” for the tragedy, alleging a “criminal conspiracy” against his client.
He refuted claims that security guards exacerbated the situation by pushing away people seeking blessings from Bhole Baba, the preacher.
A three-member judicial inquiry commission has been established to investigate the incident thoroughly.
Source-BBC
