Crowd at India stampede was three times larger than allowed

Indian police on July 3 released the first report of the investigation into the stampede that killed at least 121 people at a sermon by guru Bhole Baba in Hathras, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Police said about 250,000 people gathered at the sermon, more than three times the 80,000 allowed by the government. The number announced by police is much larger than the information previously published by Indian media.

The police report said that after the sermon ended, the cleric got into a car and left, with a large crowd rushing toward the car, trying to touch the cleric’s feet and the ground where he walked. The cleric’s staff tried to block the crowd, causing many people to fall.

“As the uncontrolled crowd rushed out of the lecture venue, many devotees sitting on the ground were trampled,” Indian police said.

Some worshippers ran towards a nearby open field to escape the stampede but slipped in the muddy area. On the other side of the road, staff with sticks also prevented the crowd from running away from the area.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered an investigation into the cause of death. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also pledged that all possible assistance will be provided to the victims.

Indian police said they have registered a case against the organizers of the lecture and are expected to arrest Guru Baba on July 3. However, police have not yet determined his whereabouts.

Mr. Baba, a former policeman before becoming a self-styled guru, has been giving regular sermons in villages in recent years.

India has seen a number of stampedes at religious and pilgrimage events in recent years. Indian MP Rajesh Kumar Jha questioned why casualties continue to occur at such events and warned that more deaths will follow if safety procedures are not strictly enforced.