Govt, cops responsible for satsang stampede, says Azad

Hathras: Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad on Monday visited the families affected by the stampede in Hathras last week and demanded justice and compensation for the victims. Azad Samaj Party leader criticised police and local administration for their “failures”, attributing the tragedy to their “lack of presence and preparation”.
Azad met the families in Aligarh before proceeding to Hathras.The MP alleged that “bodies were cremated without a post-mortem. Data on the deceased is being prepared so they can also receive government aid”. He added: “The authorities and police know that people from poor backgrounds attend Bhole Baba’s events. It doesn’t make any difference to them if they die, so they did not bother to deploy enough policemen. If a VIP had come, thousands of cops would have been deployed.” Azad called on Bhole Baba to provide financial support to the victims’ families, promising to raise the matter in Parliament. He addressed claims by Baba’s lawyer, A P Singh, about a “poisonous spray” being used, urging them to present this to the inquiry commission.