Centre, State Declare Rs 2 Lakh Each For Families: Minister On Hathras Stampede

UP Minister Sandeep Singh said on Friday that the central and the state government have announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakhs each for the bereaved families. The development comes after Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi met with the victims' families in the Hathras stampede incident.

"The Prime Minister and the state government, both have announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakhs each for the bereaved families, the total is Rs 4 lakhs. The task of transferring this amount to the accounts of the people has already started. The BJP will help these families in any manner required," he said.

Mr Singh said that the volunteers of the Baba were handling the responsibility of security and didn't allow the police to enter the premises.

"The security arrangements were made. The volunteers of the Baba took the responsibility of security and they do not allow the police to enter their premises. Police and fire-tenders were present at the venue. They have always been disallowing the police from entering the premises," he said.

Mr Singh further targeted Rahul Gandhi for doing politics on the Hathras incident and said, "This is a very serious incident. The compensatory cheques have also been distributed to almost all the families. Some people are doing politics even in such a serious matter. Rahul Gandhi met the family today and instead of consoling them, he was seen taking selfies."

Rahul Gandhi visited the families affected by the Hathras stampede on Friday and urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to provide fair compensation for the victims.

Rahul Gandhi, who arrived in Hathras early in the morning, met with the bereaved families of those who lost their lives in the July 2 tragedy at a religious 'Satsang' event of self-styled godman Suraj Pal alias 'Bhole Baba' in Fulari village in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, which claimed 121 lives.

On his way to Hathras, the Congress leader also stopped in Aligarh to meet the victims' families. He expressed his condolences and sought to understand their situation.

"It is a sad incident. Many lives have been lost. I am not approaching this from a political perspective but addressing the deficiencies of the administration. The main priority should be to provide maximum compensation to the poor families affected by this tragedy. I request CM Yogi Adityanath to provide compensation with an open heart," he said while speaking to the media.

The Congress MP further said that the family members of the deceased informed him there was no police presence at the event, which contributed to the chaos. "If there is a delay in providing compensation, it will not help anyone. I spoke with the families, and they told me there was no police arrangement at the venue. They are in shock, and I wanted to understand their situation," he said.

On Wednesday, CM Yogi visited the site of the tragedy and announced a judicial probe into the incident. A three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava has been constituted to ensure comprehensiveness of the subject matter and transparency in the inquiry.

The Commission will investigate the stampede incident and submit its report within the next two months.

According to the preliminary report, the stampede occurred when devotees tried to collect soil from the preacher's feet and were stopped by security personnel, leading to a rush and subsequent chaos.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)