Hathras: a judicial commission that investigates the deadly stampeadministrative failures“Although he recognized the possibility of a larger conspiracy. The report did not support Bhole Baba, also known as Narayan Saakar Hari, personally responsible for the incident and, on the other hand, said administrative failures and his ‘Sevadars’ as key factors that contribute to tragedy.
In its 1,680 pages report, presented at the UP Assembly on Wednesday, the panel said that while permission had been granted for an 80,000 hearing, participation increased to 2.5 Lakh to 3 Lakh. He said the administration made no effort to verify the arrangements.
‘Basic safeguards’ are ignored: Hathras panel in Stampede
Directed by the retired judge of Allahabad HC BrijEsh Kumar Srivastava, together with the retired officer of Ias Hemant Rao and former IPS Officer Bhavesh Kumar Singh, the commission said that “the basic safeguards had been ignored.” In response to the findings, the Commission has presented more than 20 recommendations aimed at preventing such disasters in the future. The report indicated that there had not been an adequate route plan for the arrival and exit of the self -denominated preacher Bhole Baba, a factor that joined the disorder. He added that fire safety protocols and emergency measures, the conditions required for the approval of the event, had never been implemented, nor had the administration made any effort to verify these agreements.
He said that the situation became even more precarious as the ‘Sevadars’ of Bhole Baba took over the crowd control instead of the law enforcement agencies, preventing the police from supervising the meeting. This, the commission said, raised the possibility of a conspiracy. “No previous information about published persons such as Sevadars, Commanders, etc., were shared, therefore, its verification remained incomplete. Such individuals could be involved in a conspiracy to discredit the government, amplify the event or exploit the situation, ”said the report.
The commission added that although the preparations for the event had begun almost 10 days in advance, with devotees that reached the phases, there had been no inspection of police officers, the administration, the fire department, the PWD, the roads or any other relevant agency. The lack of supervision and coordination, the panel concluded, contributed significantly to the tragedy. After the launch of the report, the defender of Bhole Baba, AP Singh, “welcomed” his conclusions, stating that he had cleared his client of any irregularity. “The Judicial Commission constituted by CM Adityanath has given my client a clean fusion. The report also exposed the conspirators who made accusations against my client, ”he said.