The Uttar Pradesh government has launched intensive search operations across the state as well as in neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Haryana to trace Devprakash Madhukar, the prime accused in the Hathras stampede, official sources said on Friday.
A senior government source told PTI that agencies, including the police, are looking for preacher Surajpal, also known as Narayan Sakar Hari and Bhole Baba, for questioning in the Hathras stampede case.
The stampede, which took place on July 2 after the preacher’s satsang in Fulrai village of Hathras, killed 121 people, most of whom were women, and was one of the biggest disasters in recent years, PTI reported.
According to the report, in the Hathras stampede case, the FIR names only Madhukar, the `mukhya sevadar` (chief organiser of the satsang), as the offender, but not Surajpal. Besides Madhukar, “several unidentified organisers” have been accused in the case filed at Sikandra Rao police station, and six suspects have been arrested so far.
“No one has been acquitted. The investigation is still ongoing and government officials are looking for the main accused, who is on the run. Agencies are also looking for the preacher for questioning,” the official said.
“As part of the search efforts, the teams have travelled to western regions of Uttar Pradesh and the eastern districts of the state. They are also searching in states like Rajasthan and Haryana,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the SIT briefed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the Hathras stampede report. The report, submitted by Anupam Kulshrestha, includes statements from Hathras district magistrate Ashish Kumar, superintendent of police Nipun Aggarwal and senior officials of the health department who responded to the stampede emergency.
On July 2, an FIR was filed under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (disobedience to order of public servant) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The Uttar Pradesh government has also appointed a three-member judicial commission, headed by a retired high court judge, to probe the Hathras stampede and the possibility of a “conspiracy” behind the incident.
With PTI inputs
