Hundreds of people killed in stampede near Hathras in UP – BSNLEU expresses shock and grief..

BSNLEU expresses shock and grief over the death of hundreds of innocent people in a stampede that has taken place last Tuesday, in Phulrai village near Hathras, in Uttar Pradesh. The stampede has taken place in a huge gathering, where people had come to listen the spiritual address of a self-styled Godman, Narayan Sarkar Hari, also called as Bhole Baba. Arrangements had been made only for 80,000 people for the prayer meeting, whereas, around 2,50,000 people had attended. The official report says that, 121 people are killed. However, witnesses say around 300 people were killed, as per the report of The Hindu dated 04-07-2024. Most of the people killed are women and children who belong to very poor families. The stampede had taken place when the people tried to gather the soil from the footprints of the God man, Bhole Baba. It is believed that, the soil collected from his footprints will cure ailments, when applied to the body of sick people. Police have filed an FIR against the organisers of the meeting, but not against Bhole Baba. Nowadays, police impose unwanted conditions for trade union programmes like dharna and rally. However, the police and the state administration had allowed such a massive gathering, without proper arrangements to avert untoward incidents. BSNLEU expresses its heartfelt condolences to the families of those who are killed in the stampede.