MUGHAL GARHI VILLAGE, INDIA – A horrific disaster unfolded in Mughal Garhi village in the Hathras district of northern India, when a religious gathering ended in a significant and lethal accident. The event, expected to attract around 80,000 people, saw an influx of over 250,000 people, leading to a tragic stampede that killed over 100 people and left 35 severely injured. Most of the victims were women, with at least seven children among the fatalities.
A quarter of a million people arrived at the event known as satsang, led by Bhole Baba. The crowd far exceeded the number of attendees that were expected. This overflow resulted in an eruption of chaos, and numerous police were deployed to manage the situation.
What provoked the deadly stampede was the rush of attendees striving to touch Bhole Baba’s feet after his sermon. The chaotic scene perpetuated with people falling over one another and into an open sewer near the venue.
Local health officials report that about 72 corpses have been identified so far, and many injured people are still receiving treatment at the hospitals located nearby.
The police have launched a search for Bhole Baba and are demanding answers from the event organizers. The organizers face accusations of culpable homicide that does not amount to murder, wrongful restraint of a person, disappearance of evidence, and furnishing false information.
This regrettable incident remains under investigation. A high-level inquiry is striving to understand the underlying circumstances leading to the incident and planning to file a police report against the event organizers for alleged violation of permitted attendance levels, according to local officials.