Hands off Baba; for now, heat on sevadars

In a significant development in the Hathras stampede case, the police have arrested six 'sevadars', including two women, associated with the organizing committee.

- Biswajeet Banerjee

It is understood that the members of the organising committee would oversee the crowd management and did not allow the local administration to take up the job; they were also responsible for collecting donations. Apart from this a reward of Rs1 lakh has been announced for the arrest of the main organizer, identified as Dev Prakash Madhukar.

However, the police have not yet questioned Bhole Baba, the main protagonist behind the satsang. According to Aligarh range IG Shalabh Mathur, they will question the baba, if need be. "We will make arrests based on what the investigation reveals... We will question the baba, if necessary. It is too early to say or comment whether he has a role. He has not been named in the FIR, which has held the organizers responsible. The permission was taken by the organizing committee, and members of the panel have been arrested,' said IG Mathur.