'Six Sevadars Arrested, Criminal History Of 'Bhole Baba' Being Checked': Aligarh IG On Hathras Stampede Case

Six people including four men and two women have been arrested in the Hathras stampede case, Aligarh Inspector General (IG) Shalabh Mathur informed reporters on Thursday (4 July).

All the arrested individuals are members of the organising committee of Satsang and worked as sevadars of Hari Sakar Baba aka 'Bhole Baba', who was known as Sooraj Pal previously.

However, the main sevadar Prakash Madhukar who is named as the prime accused in the First Information Report (FIR) is absconding. Rs 1 lakh reward has been announced on him.

"Soon, a non-bailable warrant will be issued against him. We will also investigate if this incident occurred due to a conspiracy. More arrests will be made as the investigation progresses," Mathur said.

The sevadars are accused of leaving the crowd uncontrolled when it followed Hari Sakar Baba and when the stampede happened, they fled the scene instead of helping the police and administrations, the IG said.

As per the official data, the death toll stands at 121 including two men, 112 women, six boys and one girl. "All bodies have been identified and post-mortem procedure completed," Mathur said.

He also alleged that the organisers did not allow police and administration to enter and instead managed the crowd themselves. Meanwhile, the police are also investigating the criminal history of the Baba.

On question that why his names has not been included in the FIR, IG Mathur said that the permission of the event was not taken in his name.