India event organiser arrested after fatal crash
The chief organizer of a religious gathering in northern India, where 121 people were killed in a crush, has surrendered to the police, according to his lawyer.
The incident occurred last week in Uttar Pradesh state and is one of the deadliest disasters in the country in over a decade.
Almost all the victims were women and children attending the satsang, a Hindu religious gathering.
Chaos ensued at the end of the event as many in the crowd rushed towards the preacher, who was leading the overcrowded congregation, as he was about to leave in his car.
The tragedy has sparked outrage in India, raising questions about lapses in safety measures and crowd management.
On Thursday, the police reported the arrest of six people involved in organizing the event in Hathras district.
On Friday night, the police announced the arrest of Devprakash Madhukar, the main organizer, in the Najafgarh area of Delhi, and he was handed over to the police in neighboring Uttar Pradesh state.
“We told you that we would surrender Devprakash Madhukar, take him in front of the police, interrogate him, participate in the investigation, and take part in the inquiry,” he told ANI news agency.
“We have handed him over to the special investigation team and the Uttar Pradesh police. Now a thorough investigation can be done.”
Mr Madhukar was produced before a local court and sent to 14 days in judicial custody.
He is a key suspect in the police complaint and is facing charges of attempted culpable homicide.
The complaint said officials had given permission for 80,000 people to gather, but some 250,000 people turned up to the event.
The police report says thousands of devotees ran towards the preacher’s vehicle as he was leaving and began collecting dust from the path in an act of devotion.
Mr Singh, however, denied blame and told the BBC the crush occurred “due to some anti-social elements”. He blamed a “criminal conspiracy hatched against” his client.
He also denied reports that security guards at the festival had triggered panic by pushing away people who tried to get Bhole Baba’s blessing.
A three-member judicial inquiry commission has been established to investigate the incident.
