What induced the lethal stampede in Hathras, India? | Faith Information

EXPLAINER

A minimum of 120 individuals died in a crowd crush throughout a non secular gathering with Hindu guru Bhole Baba.

A minimum of 121 individuals, the overwhelming majority of them ladies, have died in a crowd crush on Tuesday in India’s Hathras district, at a non secular gathering for the Hindu guru, Bhole Baba.

Right here is all we all know in regards to the incident which occurred on Tuesday afternoon:

What occurred in Hathras?

A big crowd of 250,000 devotees of the non secular chief Suraj Pal, also referred to as Bhole Baba, gathered for a satsang – prayer assembly – in a village in Hathras on Tuesday. About 80,000 of them had been allowed to enter a subject serving as the principle venue for the prayer assembly.

Many individuals had gathered in a makeshift tent the place the prayer assembly was happening, pitched atop muddy terrain.

Bhole is a Dalit, a gaggle of individuals on the backside of India’s caste system. A lot of his followers are additionally from so-called “decrease castes”, and are feminine or poor.

Chaos erupted when Bhole bought off stage and left the tent to get into his automobile after the prayer assembly.

Scores of individuals rushed out of the tent in direction of his automobile, trampling one another, in a bid to the touch his ft or the bottom he had walked on, in accordance with a police report filed afterwards.

Many individuals had been killed within the crush, suffocating to loss of life. Some additionally fell into an adjoining mud subject and had been crushed there.

Who’re the victims?

• Some 121 individuals had been killed, Sandip Kumar Singh Lodhi, Uttar Pradesh (UP) state’s minister for schooling confirmed on Wednesday.
• Greater than 80 others had been injured and admitted to hospitals, mentioned senior police officer Shalabh Mathur.
• Amongst these lifeless are 112 ladies, mentioned UP’s police chief Prashant Kumar.
• Seven youngsters have additionally been reported lifeless because of the incident to this point, Manoj Kumar Singh, UP’s chief secretary, advised native media.

The place precisely did this occur?

• The group crush occurred in a paddy subject serving because the venue for the non secular gathering, subsequent to a busy freeway within the Hathras district in India’s northern Uttar Pradesh (UP) state, about 200km (125 miles) southeast of the nationwide capital, New Delhi.
• Uttar Pradesh is understood for its non secular and cultural heritage, and can be a microcosm of India’s non secular divide between Hindus and Muslims. The Ram Temple was consecrated early this 12 months within the state’s Ayodhya metropolis, about 500km (311 miles) southeast of Hathras.

Why did the stampede in Hathras occur?

Overcrowding: The police had allowed 80,000 individuals to enter the venue for the gathering, which noticed a complete turnout of about 250,000, in accordance with a police report filed after the incident. It’s unclear what number of amongst these had been contained in the tent.

Lack of exits: Catastrophe administration consultants have speculated that the dearth of an enough variety of exits within the tent induced 1000’s to attempt to cram by means of one exit. “The perform was held in a makeshift tent with out making certain a number of exit routes. Usually, there ought to be eight to 10 well-marked exits opening into open areas,” mentioned Sanjay Srivastava, a catastrophe administration knowledgeable who spoke to the AP. The occasion organised by Bhole Baba’s Sri Jagar Guru Baba organisation had been two weeks within the planning, it was reported.

Slippery mud: It was additionally reported that many individuals slipped on the muddy subject within the gathering venue, contributing to the crush. Witnesses reported that it additionally started to rain on the already humid day, which induced individuals to slide and fall.

How have authorities responded?

• The police have registered a First Info Report in opposition to the organisers.
• The authorities have no idea the place Bhole Baba is, and police have launched a search.

• UP’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrived in Hathras on Wednesday to satisfy the victims’ households.
• India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X on Tuesday: “My ideas are with these bereaved in Hathras. Prayers with the injured. The UP Authorities is working to help these affected.”

Have crowd crushes occurred in India earlier than?

• Crowd crushes are pretty frequent in India and lots of of them have occurred at non secular gatherings.
• In January 2022, 12 individuals died and extra had been injured after a crush at Jammu and Kashmir’s Vaishno Devi temple. The group had tried to go contained in the shrine by means of its slim entrance.
• In October 2013, about 115 individuals had been killed and greater than 100 had been injured throughout a Navratri celebration on the Ratangarh temple within the central state of Madhya Pradesh. The group comprised no less than 150,000 individuals. Navratri is a nine-day celebration of the Goddess Durga.
• In February 2013, greater than 100 million Hindu pilgrims gathered in Uttar Pradesh for the Kumbh Mela over two months. On the busiest day, no less than 36 pilgrims had been killed in a crowd crush at a prepare station, prompting the resignation of pageant organiser Mohammed Azam Khan “on ethical grounds”.
• In March 2010, no less than 63 individuals had been killed in a crush triggered by a rush at no cost rations at a Hindu temple in Uttar Pradesh. Half of these killed had been youngsters.
• In September 2008, 250 individuals had been killed in a crowd crush on the Chamundagar temple in Rajasthan throughout Navratri celebrations.
• In August 2008, rumours of a landslide triggered a crowd crush on the mountaintop Naina Devi temple within the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, killing about 145 Hindu pilgrims.
• In January 2005, greater than 265 Hindu devotees died following a crush attributable to slippery steps on the Mandhardevi temple in Maharashtra.