Hathras stampede: Main accused fled to Delhi, now in custody

Lucknow: Devprakash Madhukar, the principal accused in the July 2 Hathras stampede that resulted in 121 fatalities, was apprehended in Delhi by the Uttar Pradesh Police late Friday night, officials confirmed.

Contrary to claims made by Madhukar’s lawyer, A P Singh, who stated that his client had voluntarily surrendered to the police in Delhi late Friday, a police official disclosed that Madhukar was detained by a Special Operations Group (SOG) team from Hathras police in the Najafgarh area of Delhi.

Madhukar, the ‘mukhya sevadar’ of the ‘satsang’ where the stampede occurred, is the sole accused named in the FIR lodged at Sikandra Rao police station in Hathras. In a video message, Madhukar’s lawyer asserted that his client had surrendered while undergoing medical treatment in Delhi. “Today, we have surrendered Devprakash Madhukar, who has been called the main organiser in the FIR in the Hathras case, after contacting the police, the SIT, and the STF in Delhi,” Singh stated.

Singh emphasised that they had not applied for anticipatory bail as they believed Madhukar was innocent. “He is an engineer and a heart patient. Doctors have now declared his condition stable, so we surrendered today to join the investigation,” the lawyer added.

Singh urged the police to consider Madhukar’s health condition during the investigation and ensure his safety. “Questions were being raised about his whereabouts and whether he had fled,” Singh remarked. Madhukar, according to his lawyer, is prepared to provide information about “anti-social elements” present at the event.

However, a senior police officer requesting anonymity said that Madhukar was taken into custody from Delhi, near the Najafgarh area.

The Uttar Pradesh Police had announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to Madhukar’s arrest.

On July 3, Singh, a Supreme Court lawyer, stated that he also represents Surajpal alias Narayan Sakar Hari alias Bhole Baba, the self-styled godman at whose ‘satsang’ the stampede occurred. Singh suggested that some “anti-social elements” were responsible for the tragedy.

An FIR was lodged on July 2 under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence).

On July 3, the Uttar Pradesh government formed a three-member judicial commission led by a retired high court judge to investigate the Hathras tragedy and explore the possibility of a conspiracy behind the stampede.

Meanwhile, Bhole Baba addressed the public for the first time since the Hathras incident.

Speaking to a news agency on Saturday morning, he expressed his sorrow over the stampede incident on July 2.

“We are very sad after the stampede incident. God should give us and the congregation strength to overcome this sad moment.

Everyone should have faith in the government and administration. We are confident that whoever is responsible will not be spared. Our committee will help the families of the deceased and the injured,” he stated.

The Superintendent of Police (SP) Hathras Nipun Agarwal told reporters that Dev Prakash Madhukar, along with his sevadars and committee members, were fully responsible for the barricading, entrance, exit, seating arrangements, parking, and other facilities around the pandal of the satsang. The accused, Dev Prakash, and his team prevented the police administration from interfering with the venue’s arrangements.

Sevadars, dressed as commandos, managed all the arrangements inside, allowing unrestricted videography and photography.

Despite these responsibilities, the arrangements were poorly executed, violating many conditions of the administration’s permission letter and affecting the traffic system.

Interrogation revealed that no efforts were made by Madhukar and his sevadars to control the crowd. Instead, they fled the scene.

Six sevadars have been arrested yesterday and on Saturday two more sevadars Ram Prakash Shakya and Sanju Yadav were arrested.

“It was also disclosed that they extracted the preacher’s car through the crowd, despite knowing that the scramble for charanraj (the dust of Baba’s feet) could trigger a stampede. The police plan to take the arrested sevadars and organizers into custody for further interrogation,” the SP said.

The SP revealed that during the interrogation of Dev Prakash Madhukar, it emerged that some political parties had contacted him.

A detailed investigation is underway to determine if political parties funded such programs and other resources.

Preliminary findings suggest that political parties may be associated with Madhukar for their political and personal interests.

The investigation includes scrutiny of all related bank accounts, movable and immovable properties, and money trails linked to the accused.