Hathras stampede: Key accused Madhukar held in Delhi’s Najafgarh; cops say he was contacted by some political parties

New Delhi, July 6

In a major breakthrough in the Hathras tragedy case that claimed 121 lives, the Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested the main organiser and accused Dev Prakash Madhukar and two other accused—Ram Prakash Shakya and Sanju Yadav.

With this, Hathras Police have arrested a total of 9 accused in the case. Accused Madhukar carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh.

Interrogation of the accused revealed that some political parties had contacted them some time ago, the Hathras Police said, adding involvement of political parties in the incident through funding is being probed.

Hathras SP Nipun Aggarwal said Madhukar was arrested by the district Special Operations Group (SOG) of Hathras on Friday evening from Najafgarh (Delhi), while the Sikandra Rao police arrested Shakya from Kailora Chauraha and Yadav from Gopalpur Kachauri, Sikandra Rao on Saturday.

Due to his long-term involvement with the organisation, Madhukar had become its fundraiser, collecting money to support its operations and conduct Satsangs, Aggarwal said.

Based on his interrogation, the police claimed that a political party might be involved with them for its own political and personal gains.

All bank accounts, movable and immovable properties and money trails associated with accused Madhukar were being investigated, and assistance from other agencies will be sought as necessary, Aggarwal said.

Interrogation also revealed that the preacher’s vehicle was driven through the crowd by the accused and their assistants, despite knowing that doing so could cause a stampede and a terrible accident due to the rush for the preacher’s blessings, the police said.

“An in-depth investigation is being conducted to determine whether this incident was incited or instructed by someone else,” the police said, adding, if necessary, the arrested assistants and organizers would be taken into police custody for further interrogation.

During the initial interrogation, accused Dev Prakash Madhukar revealed that he has been working on a contract basis as a junior engineer in the MGNREGA in Etah district since 2010, police said.

They said he has been associated with this organization for years, organising events and collecting funds for it. He was the main organizer of the Satsang event held in the village of Phulrai on July 2 and he had obtained the necessary permissions for this event, police said.

Dev Prakash Madhukar and other assistants prevented the police administration from intervening at the event site, they said.

“People were prohibited from doing any videography or photography at the event site. Violating several conditions mentioned in the permit issued by the administration, they disrupted traffic arrangements and other logistics,” the police said.

Interrogation revealed that no efforts were made to control the crowd and all of them fled the scene, they added.