Hathras (Uttar Pradesh), July 4 (UNI): Six persons, including two women, have been arrested in connection with the Hathras stampede tragedy which claimed 121 lives during a satsang, a senior police officer said here on Thursday.
Talking to reporters, Inspector General of Police (IG) Aligarh Range Shalabh Mathur said, “Those, who have been arrested, have been identified as Ram Ladaet Yadav, a resident of Kurawali in Mainpuri district, Upendra Singh Yadav, a resident of Shikohabad district Firozabad, Nek Singh, Manju Yadav, Mukesh Kumar and Manju Devi, all residents of Sikandra Rao in Hathras district.”
He said that during preliminary questioning the arrested persons said they were members of the organising committee and had participated in several events in the past. “Primarily they work as sewadars and cooperate with the organisers and the satsang committee in assembling a crowd and collecting donations,” the IG said.
Mathur said that when the incident took place all the sewadars fled from the spot and they did not give any cooperation to the police and administration. “One thing has come to light that they made efforts to control the mob and they do not allow any kind of police or administrative arrangements,” he said.
The IG said that a reward of Rs 1 lakh is being announced for the main accused Ved Prakash Madhukar. An order in this regard is being issued at the zone level. Action under a non-bailable warrant (NBW) will also be taken soon,” he said.
Mathur said that during investigation it would be seen whether there is a criminal conspiracy by a person or an organisation. “It will be seen whether it was a part of a conspiracy or not,” he said.
On the role of Suraj Pal alias Bhole Baba, he said that he has not been named in the FIR. “Action will be taken if anyone’s role is found during the investigation. Teams are working for the location of the main accused Madhukar,” he said.
