Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed the possibility of a conspiracy in the Hathras accident which left 121 people dead. After visiting the spot on Wednesday morning, the chief minister also announced a judicial inquiry into the incident.
The chief minister said that the whole matter would be investigated under the chairmanship of a retired judge of the High Court and strict action would be taken against whoever was found guilty.
The chief minister said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been constituted under the chairmanship of ADG Agra Zone to investigate this entire incident.
The ADG Agra Zone has given a preliminary report. He has been asked to get to the bottom of this incident. There are many aspects which need to be investigated.
Yogi said till now, prima facie our action is to call the organisers for questioning apart from relief and rescue. “To question them about the accident and to determine the negligence of those responsible, an FIR has already been registered,” the chief minister informed the media persons.
Responding to questions about the absence of an FIR against Bhole Baba, he explained that the initial FIR is against those who sought permission for the event, and the investigation will expand to hold all responsible parties accountable.
The chief minister further said that it could not be ignored that this type of incident could not be just an accident.
“If it is an accident then who is responsible for it. If the incident has happened and is not an accident, then it is a conspiracy. A judicial inquiry will be conducted to find out who is behind this conspiracy. Its investigation will be conducted under the chairmanship of a retired judge of the High Court. Retired senior officials of the administration and police will also be included in it and the investigation will be done to get to the bottom of the entire incident. Whoever is found guilty will be punished and it will be ensured that the incident does not recur,” the chief minister disclosed, adding that the notification for the judicial inquiry will be issued on Wednesday.
Furthermore, this inquiry will devise recommendations and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent similar incidents in the future. These measures will be implemented in all future events of this nature.
Chief Minister Yogi stated that in such events, the sevadaars and volunteers run the entire system. Where the crowd is disciplined and people come with devotion, they remain disciplined. But when this programme becomes a toy in the hands of vested selfish elements, then a scene of indiscipline is seen. Its victims are innocent persons, who came with devotion as they are not aware of the conspiracy. But the conspirators quietly slip away from there after conspiring. If it was an accident, then the sevadaars should have strengthened the system. If they were not able to strengthen it, then with the help of the administration, they should have tried to take the accident victims to the hospital. People kept dying there and the sevadaars kept running away, he added.
Chief Minister Yogi said that he himself went to the spot. “Apart from the state government’s three ministers, the chief secretary and other officers are also camping here. Senior administrative and police officers are also working towards accountability of those responsible. Some special teams have been formed. In this, action will be taken against the responsible people of different teams,” he claimed.
Chief Minister Yogi announced plans to support the education of minor children affected by the accident under the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Bal Seva Yojana, regardless of their current school or institution. Furthermore, he mentioned that the Central and state governments were providing Rs 4 lakh as financial assistance to the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to the injured.
Before the press conference, Chief Minister Yogi held a comprehensive review meeting regarding the incident at the Hathras police headquarters. Local officials gave him crucial information and detailed insights into the incident’s circumstances. He received a comprehensive briefing about the entire area and witnessed the police present an outline of the incident.
Chief Minister Yogi then directed appropriate actions to be taken. State government ministers Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan Singh, Asim Arun and Sandeep Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party state president Bhupendra Chaudhary, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, DGP Prashant Kumar and other officials and local MLAs were present in the meeting.
