The death toll in Hathras has risen to 121. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Hathras on Wednesday, inquiring about the victims and inspecting the scene. Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women's chairperson also assessed the situation on-site. While a lawsuit has been registered, the pressing question remains: Who is culpable for these 121 deaths? Notably, Baba Narayan Sakar Hari, despite being involved, has not been named in the FIR. Current investigations are interrogating four individuals, and the main organizer remains at large, with police teams formed for the arrest.
Internationally, this tragedy has sparked discussions. Countries, including Russia, have expressed their condolences. Nearly 29 hours post-incident, 'Bhola Baba' Surajpal aka Narayan Sakar Hari issued a statement claiming innocence and attributing the chaos to anti-social elements - yet choosing to stay out of the public eye, making only a statement release.
The forensic revelations from the postmortem of 21 bodies transported from Hathras to Agra have stirred the public conscience, citing asphyxiation as the primary cause of death for most. The reports also detail three fatalities resulting from head injuries and another three from shock and hemorrhage. The SN Medical College in Agra received the 21 corpses post-disaster, with most indications pointing toward chest congestion as the cause of suffocation. All bodies were found covered in dirt, including those of women aged between 35 and 60.
A lawsuit has been filed at Hathras' Sikandra Rao station against the event's key server, Dev Prakash Madhukar, and other unknown servers, but the 'Bhola Baba' was not named. Reportedly, the committee responsible, Manav Mangal Milan Sadbhavana Samagam, had been formed by Baba to organize such events. Despite administrative permission claiming an estimate of 80,000 attendees, the gathering swelled to several hundred thousand, leading to the fatal chaos.
A judicial commission led by retired High Court Judge Brajesh Kumar has been established to investigate the Hathras incident, with a report due to the state government in two months. The commission will scrutinize all aspects of the occurrence and is headquartered in Lucknow.
Questions are now looming in the aftermath:
Who is truly at fault? Did Baba claim divine powers of fortune through his dust?
How did such a vast crowd amass near Baba's procession?
Whose responsibility was it to ensure the crowd wouldn't gather?
Should Baba have been mindful of his devotees' safety or was it up to the servers and administrators?
Wasn't it the administration's duty to control the crowd, and not left only to the volunteers, who perhaps lacked proper training for security provision?
People often try to meet holy figures during such spiritual gatherings, leading to inevitable huddles around their processions. Even with intentions of reverence and faith, it was administrative oversight that led to a disaster of this magnitude.
Several oversights have now emerged:
Why was the swelling crowd not reported to the administration at the right moment?
Which officer was in charge on-site, and why wasn't immediate notification made to senior officials upon recognizing the escalating crowd?
Why didn't the administration proactively manage the situation?
Why wasn't safe passage provided around Baba by the organizers?
Multiple departments including local bodies, the fire department, and land-owning agencies are required to give permissions for such events. In this case, serious organizational failures have led to tragic costs.
