go through Cherilan Moran, BBC News, Mumbai • Salman Ravi, BBC Hindi, Hathras
Killed crush at religious gathering The number of disasters in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has risen to 121, making it one of the deadliest such disasters in more than a decade.
The incident took place during the Satsang (Hindu religious festival) in Hathras district on Tuesday.
Police said the number of people at the scene was three times the allowed number, and most of those killed or injured were women.
The organizers of the event have been booked.
The tragedy sparked outrage in India and raised questions about lapses in safety measures.
Getty ImagesWhat happened?
The crushing incident took place in Phulrai village, where a self-proclaimed godman, Bhole Baba, was holding a religious gathering.
Officials said the event was extremely crowded.
According to the first information report (FIR) filed by the police, the authorities had allowed 80,000 people to gather, but about 250,000 people participated in the event.
At the end of the event, as the missionaries prepared to leave in their cars, chaos broke out.
Police reports said thousands of devotees ran towards his vehicle and started collecting dust from the road as a sign of devotion.
As the crowd grew, some people sitting or squatting on the ground were overwhelmed.
The document also said some people tried to run across the road to a muddy field, but were forcibly stopped and crushed to death by organizers.
Police have opened a case against a man they say was a key organizer of the event, and several others face multiple charges, including manslaughter.
Getty ImagesDistressing images from the site circulated online on Tuesday.
Some videos showed injured people being taken to hospitals in pickup trucks, tuk-tuks and even motorcycles.
Other videos showed distraught family members screaming outside a local hospital, trying to find loved ones amid rows of bodies at the entrance.
Bunty hails from Aligarh district of the state and goes by only one name.
He saw her body lying outside the hospital on a news channel on Tuesday night.
“But when I went there, I couldn’t find my mother and have been trying to find her body ever since,” he told BBC Hindi.
Others expressed outrage over the incident.
Ritesh Kumar, whose 28-year-old wife was among the victims, said his life had been turned upside down.
“My family is devastated. The government should make sure we get justice,” he said.
Where is the preacher now?
The self-styled godman’s original name was Suraj Pal, but he reportedly renamed himself Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari. His devotees call him Bhole Baba.
Baba is believed to be hiding in an ashram in Mainpuri, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the village of Pulrai.
Little is known about him, but reports suggest he was a constable with the state police who adopted the name Bole Baba after leaving the force.
He has thousands of followers, many of whom say they have followed his religious teachings for years.
Police said he ran an organization called the Ram Kutil Charitable Trust, which was also the main organizer of Tuesday’s event.
Satsangs are events where people gather to pray, sing devotional songs or listen to preachers, usually with large numbers of women in attendance.
Gomti Devi, who was present at the event, said she has full faith in Bhole Baba.
She said she wore a locket with his picture on it because he “cured diseases, ended family troubles and provided employment.”
Additional reporting by Abhishek Mathur in Hathras
