Hathras: Police personnel keep vigil outside a hospital during Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's visit to meet the injured victims a day after the stampede that occurred during a 'satsang' (religious congregation), in Hathras district, Wednesday, July 3, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday visited the Phulari village in Hathras where 121 devotees, including women and children, were killed in a stampede at a 'satsang' on Tuesday. The CM suspected a "conspiracy" behind the incident and said that the guilty would be sternly punished.
Speaking to reporters in Hathras, Adityanath said that an SIT (Special Investigating Team) has been constituted to conduct a thorough probe into the incident. ‘’It will be investigated if the incident was an accident or a conspiracy,’’ he added.
The Chief Minister said that the ‘sevadars’ (volunteers) tried to "suppress" the incident. ‘’One of the eyewitnesses said that the incident happened when the sevadars tried to stop the devotees from having darshan of the priest narrator,’’ Adityanath said.
He said that the organisers and the sevadars would be quizzed to ascertain the reasons behind the incident. ‘’Usually the sevadars don’t allow the officials to enter the event…they tried to hide the incident and fled from the venue when the police arrived,’’ he said.
The Chief Minister said that the devotees often fell prey to the "conspiracy of the anti-social elements" at such events. ‘’The devotees are disciplined but the miscreants present among them often cause troubles,’’ he added.
‘’The sevadars should have helped the administration in transporting the injured to the hospitals if it was an accident,’’ Adityanath said.
He also slammed Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav for what he termed "politicisng" the incident.