The police said that the organisers had sought permission for 3,000 people for the procession whereas the turnout was almost around five lakh. An officer told PTI, "Keeping police in dark, the organisers in a planned manner held their 'Shakti Pradarshan' in the village, which was a violation of rules."
In defence, a leader from the Jai Gurudev sect said that they themselves did not expect such a huge number of followers. He, however, accused the district administration and the police of not being able to handle the situation properly.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday night ordered a judicial probe into the incident, reported The Hindu. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav appointed retired judge of Allahabad High Court, Rajmani Chauhan, to investigate the stampede. "He has two months to submit his report," said Home Department secretary Mani Prasad Mishra.
Earlier, the chief minister had ordered a magisterial probe into the incident and announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of those killed while the critically injured will get Rs 50,000 each. Yadav suspended Additional District Magistrate (city) Vindhyavasini Rai and city magistrate Varanasi Vijay Bahadur Singh, reported The Hindu.
The stampede took place when thousands of devotees of spiritual leader Jai Gurudev tried to cross Rajghat Bridge between Varanasi and Chandauli simultaneously on October 15. The devotees were on their way to Domri village on the banks of the River Ganga. According to a notice on the Jai Gurudev ashram website, the march was organised to promote vegetarianism and spread awareness on the ill-effects of consuming alcohol.
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