Hathras stampede: Sub-divisional magistrate among six officials suspended after SIT submits report
The report did not rule out the possibility of a conspiracy with regard to the incident that killed 121 persons on July 2.
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The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday suspended six officials, including a sub-divisional magistrate, in connection with the stampede in Hathras that killed 121 persons on July 2, The Indian Express reported.
Earlier in the day, a two-member Special Investigation Team, which was set up soon after the stampede, submitted its report to the state government. The report held the organisers, the local police and the administration responsible for the incident.
The six suspended officials are Sub-divisional Magistrate Ravindra Kumar, Circle Officer Anand Kumar, Station House Officer Ashish Kumar, Tehsildar Sushil Kumar, Kachora chowki in-charge Manveer Singh and Pora chowki in-charge Brijesh Pandey, The Indian Express reported.
The stampede occurred on July 2 at a gathering convened by religious preacher Narayan Saakar Hari, popularly known as Bhole Baba, at Fulrai village in Sikandrarau tehsil. A crowd of about 2.5 lakh persons from several districts and nearby states had gathered at the venue for the event.
Hari was not named in the first information report registered after the stampede.
The 855-page report submitted on Tuesday also did not mention Hari.
The Special Investigation Team, comprising Additional Director General of Police Anupam Kulshreshtha and Divisional Commissioner Chaitra V, has not ruled out the possibility of a conspiracy with regard to the incident, according to The Indian Express.
The suspended officials did not take the event seriously and did not inform their seniors, the team said in the report, adding that the sub-divisional magistrate gave permission for the event without inspecting the venue.
The report noted that the event organisers obtained permission for the gathering by withholding facts.
“They [organisers] did not make adequate and smooth arrangements despite inviting an unexpected crowd, nor did they comply with the conditions set by the local administration for the programme,” The Indian Express cited the report as saying.
“People associated with the organising committee have been found guilty of spreading chaos,” it added. “Individuals added by the committee without proper police verification contributed to the disorder.”
According to the report, the organising committee misbehaved with the police officers and attempted to prevent them from inspecting the venue.
“Despite the large crowd, no barricading or passage arrangements were made, and when the accident occurred, members of the organising committee fled from the scene,” it said.
The Special Investigation Team inspected the site of the stampede last week and collected statements from 125 individuals, including administrative and police officials, and the public.
Another judicial commission comprising retired Allahabad High Court Judge Brijesh Kumar Shrivastava and retired IPS Hemant Rao is also investigating the incident, The Hindu reported.
On Friday, the police arrested Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the first information report pertaining to the stampede. Madhukar was referred to as the “mukhya sevadar” or chief volunteer, in the report. He had been missing since the stampede.
Six others were arrested in connection with the incident a day earlier.
On Saturday, Hari issued his first statement since the stampede and said that “those who created chaos will not be spared”.