’Poison sprayed, women fell and died...’: Bhole Baba’s lawyer alleges ’conspiracy’ in Hathras stampede | What he said

After more than 120 people were killed in a stampede at a Hathras 'satsang', the lawyer of the self-styled godman AP Singh has alleged a "conspiracy", claiming that "poison was sprayed" causing the women to fall and die.

The tragic incident that occurred on 2 July in Uttar Pradesh claiming lives of 121 people, including 112 women and seven children. As many as 35 people were also injured.

Talking to news agency PTI, Singh claimed that 15-16 people were involved in the conspiracy of the “heart-wrenching incident”

“10-12 people had sprayed poison. Witnesses had said the women were falling and many died due to breathlessness,” he said.

Singh also alleged that permission was taken for Bhole Baba's ‘satsang’, and the map was attached in the permission.

According to an initial police report, Bhole Baba had a permission for a gathering of only 80,000 people, however, about 2,50,000 devotees were gathered at the ‘satsang’ venue.

“Some unidentified vehicles were there at the spot of stampede. They fled from the spot,” Singh claimed.

Bhole Baba's lawyer said the CCTV footage from the venue should be seized, so that those vehicles can be identified. "It was all planned."

On Saturday, two people — including key accused Devprakash Madhukar — were remanded in judicial custody in connection with the stampede.

According to officials, Madhukar worked as a fundraiser for events of self-styled godman Surajpal alias Narayan Sakar Hari alias Bhole Baba and collected donations.

According to initial findings, the stampede occurred when devotees attempted to receive blessings and gather soil near the preacher's feet. Security personnel intervened to prevent this, leading to a chaotic situation where pushing among the crowd resulted in several people falling and triggering the stampede.

A three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission led by Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava has been established to thoroughly investigate the recent stampede incident. The Commission aims to ensure transparency and comprehensiveness in its inquiry process.