The Allahabad High Court has ordered a former district magistrate and senior superintendent of police of Hathras to appear personally before it on January 15 to explain why they should not be held responsible for a stampede in July that resulted in 121 deaths, PTI reported on Wednesday.
Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav remarked on January 6 that such incidents were caused by mismanagement on the part of the organisers.
The stampede took place on July 2 during a satsang, or a religious gathering, held by a religious preacher named Narayan Saakar Hari, popularly known as Bhole Baba, at the Fulrai village in the Sikandrarau tehsil of Hathras.
The High Court on Monday said that it was the responsibility of the administration to ensure proper deployment of police personnel and medical staffers, PTI reported. “The organisers call innocent people for their benefit and due to lack of proper arrangements, such incidents happen,” Yadav said.
The court added: “In the past, many such incidents have been seen where lakhs of people gather in such events, poor and illiterate people gather due to faith and belief, and due to losing their temper, people die untimely in the stampede.”
Government counsel Rupak Chaubey said the organisers estimated a crowd of 80,000, but 2.5 lakh people attended the event.
The court, however, urged the district and police administration to learn from the Hathras stampede and ensure proper arrangements for the upcoming Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.
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