The chief organiser of a religious gathering in northern India, where 121 people were killed in a crush, has surrendered to the police, his lawyer says. The incident, which took place in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district last week, is one of the deadliest such disasters in the country in more than a decade.
Nearly all those killed were women and children, who were attending the satsang – a Hindu religious gathering. On Thursday, police said they had arrested six people who were part of a group that organised the event.
On Friday night, police said they had arrested Devprakash Madhukar, the main organiser of the event, from Najafgarh area in the capital, Delhi, and handed him over to the Uttar Pradesh police.
However, AP Singh, a lawyer for the preacher Bhole Baba who led the overcrowded congregation, later said Mr Madhukar had surrendered to the police.
“We told you that we would surrender Devprakash Madhukar, take him in front of the police, interrogate him, participate in the investigation, and take part in the inquiry,” he told ANI news agency.
“We have handed him over to the special investigation team and the Uttar Pradesh police. Now a thorough investigation can be done.” Mr Madhukar was produced before a local court and sent to 14 days in judicial custody.
He is a key suspect in the police complaint and is facing charges of attempted culpable homicide. The complaint said officials had given permission for 80,000 people to gather, but some 250,000 people turned up to the event.
Chaos broke out at the end of the event as the preacher was about to leave in his car. The police report says thousands of devotees ran towards the preacher's vehicle as he was leaving and began collecting dust from the path in an act of devotion.
Mr Singh, however, denied blame and told the BBC the crush occurred “due to some anti-social elements”. He blamed a “criminal conspiracy hatched against” his client.
He also denied reports that security guards at the festival had triggered panic by pushing away people who tried to get Bhole Baba's blessing. The tragedy has sparked outrage in India, leading to questions about lapses in safety measures and crowd management.
A three-member judicial inquiry commission has been established to investigate the incident.
— CutC by bbc.com
