Lucknow, July 2: Atleast 107 people died in a stampede during a religious event in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on Tuesday afternoon.
The stampede occurred shortly after a religious preacher, Bhole Baba, addressed his followers in a specially erected tent in the Rati Bhanpur village within the Sikandra Rau area of Hathras district.
According to the police, initial reports suggest that suffocation at the overcrowded venue led to discomfort among attendees of the ‘Satsang’. This prompted people to start running, which caused the deadly stampede. The exact cause of the incident is still under investigation.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took immediate cognizance of the incident, announcing an ex gratia payment of Rs. 2 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have also expressed their condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic incident.
