OAN’s Brooke Mallory
5:42 PM – Tuesday, July 2, 2024
According to authorities, on Tuesday, a stampede during a religious event in the state of Uttar Pradesh in central India claimed the lives of at least 116 individuals.
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Although it seemed that women made up the majority of the victims, officials were still scrambling to ascertain how many casualties had been transported to several hospitals in the area.
In the village of Rati Bhanpur, in the Hathras region of the state, there was a “satsang,” a prayer gathering led by a Hindu guru, when the sudden stampede occurred. A frenzy broke out, and thousands of the guru’s followers began running as they flocked under tents to escape the intense heat in order to hear his speech.
Yet, “some eyewitnesses told local media outlets that the stampede started when the event ended and people rushed to leave the venue,” CBS News reported.
Inspector General Shalabh Mathur of the Uttar Pradesh Police eventually confirmed at least 116 deaths overall.
Hathras District Magistrate Ashish Kumar initially stated that the local community health center had confirmed between 50 and 60 deaths among district residents alone. However, more deaths were later acknowledged by Indian news outlets.
Numerous bodies, primarily elderly and female, could be seen being transported to nearby hospitals in videos that went viral on social media.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state’s highest ranking official in Uttar Pradesh, launched an investigation into the incident when locals began to express their displeasure and accusations that the massive gathering—which was conducted in sweltering heat—had not been properly planned.
The local guru, a Hindu preacher known as “Bhole Baba,” had arranged for “temporary permission” to hold the religious gathering, according to senior police officer Shalabh Mathur.
The state administration of Uttar Pradesh is giving the victims “all assistance imaginable,” according to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The leader of the opposition Congress party, Pawan Khera, claimed that the state government, led by Bhartiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi, was ill-prepared for the occasion. He maintained that there weren’t enough medical professionals or resources at the hospitals where the injured were admitted to treat them.
Since religious ceremonies are typically planned privately and frequently lack proper safety or crowd control measures, stampedes at these events are not unusual in India.
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