Agra police cancels two congregations of preacher Bhole Baba after Hathras stampede

Agra: Two congregations of religious preacher Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba in this district have been cancelled after the stampede incident in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras that claimed 121 lives, officials said on Wednesday.

One of the 'Satsang Sabhas' was supposed to be held from July 4 to 11 in Saiyan and the other from July 13 to 23 in Shastripuram.

DCP (West) Sonam Kumar said, "Permission for 'satsang sabha' of Bhole Baba in Agra district's Saiyan has been cancelled after the Hathras incident. It was to be held from July 4 to 11." "Another event at Shastripuram in Sikandra in Agra city from July 13 to 23 has also been cancelled," he added.

The developments came after the stampede at a religious congregation of Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba in Hathras district's Phulrai village on Tuesday claimed 121 lives, mostly women, as devotees suffocated to their deaths and bodies piled atop each other in the worst such tragedy in recent years.

Tens of thousands of devotees had gathered in Phulrai village for the 'satsang'.