The main accused and the aide of Baba bhole responsible for the stampede in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras was arrested by the police on the eve of Saturday, according to the accused's counsel AP Singh. The accused Dev Prakash Madhukar was the main sevadar for the satsang. Also a reward of one lakh rupees was announced for the arrest of the main organiser, identified as Dev Prakash Madhukar.
Madhukar is a close aide of Bhole Baba and the key accused in the Hathras Satsang stampede which claimed the lives of 121 people.
In a video message, Madhukar's lawyer A P Singh said that his client had turned himself in while he was in Delhi for treatment. He said, “Today, we have surrendered Devprakash Madhukar, who was called the main organiser in the FIR in the Hathras case, after calling the police, the SIT and the STF in Delhi since he was undergoing treatment here.”
“We had promised we would not apply for anticipatory bail since we did no wrong. What is our crime? He is an engineer and a heart patient. Doctors said his condition is stable now and so we surrendered today to join the probe,” he added.
The tragic event, which took place in Hathras, resulted in the deaths of 121 people, predominantly women, amid a crowd of 250,000 devotees.
The state government has established a three-member judicial commission, led by a retired high court judge, to investigate the tragedy and explore the possibility of a conspiracy behind the stampede. The commission is expected to submit its report within two months.
In the aftermath of the tragic stampede at Baba Bhole’s satsang, an investigation has uncovered that 20 calls were made to Baba, also known as Suraj Pal, from five different numbers immediately following the incident.
The main organizer and his five associates informed Baba of every detail of the incident, and it is believed that they went underground on Baba's instructions.
The Special Operations Group (SOG) teams of the police have intensified their efforts to arrest the main organizer and his associates since July 2, when the incident took place.
