The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against the organisers of the congregation, accusing them of flouting conditions with 2. 5 lakh people gathering for the event in which only 80,000 were permitted.It also alleged the organisers did not cooperate in traffic management and hid evidence after the stampede that occurred as people gathered there stopped to collect soil from where the religious preacher’s vehicle passed.The chief minister met the injured at the district hospital and enquired about the condition.At the police lines, he met the eyewitnesses of the stampede and gathered information about the sequence of the incident.BJP state president Bhupendra Chaudhary, Uttar Pradesh ministers Lakshmi Narayan Chaudhary, Asim Arun and Sandeep Singh as well as the local MLA, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and Sanjay Prasad, the principal secretary to the chief minister, were also present.After meeting the injured, Adityanath reached the stampede spot in Sikandrarau where the divisional commissioner of Aligarh briefed him about the accident.At a press conference, the chief minister said “When the gentleman’s (Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba) preaching was over, he came down from the stage and his convoy moved forward, a group of women moved towards him to touch him. A crowd followed them and started climbing on top of each other.” Adityanath said, “The ‘sevadars’ kept pushing people leading to the accident. It is sad that the ‘sevadars’, who do not allow the administration to enter such events, tried to hush up the matter. But when the administration started taking the injured to hospital, most of the ‘sevadars’ fled.” Action is being taken to fix accountability, he said, adding some special teams have been formed and after initial investigation, “we will take further action.” Asked about opposition parties trying to corner the government over the stampede, the chief minister said, “Some people have a tendency to dig up politics in such tragic incidents.” Apparently referring to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, he said, “Everyone knows with whom that gentleman has a photo and who are his political connections… I think it is necessary to get to the bottom of it.” “Those who play with the lives of innocent people will also be held accountable,” the chief minister said.A photo of Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba with Akhilesh Yadav has gone viral on social media.Asked why the “sevadars” do not allow the administration to enter the venue, Adityanath said, “The administration assumes that it is a religious event and the ‘sevadars’ will take the responsibility.” “Big events are organised this way. Police are deployed in the outer ring for security. Wherever people attend religious events, they remain disciplined. But when such events become tools in the hands of vested selfish elements, then it leads to indiscipline,” Adityanath added.
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