Hathras Stampede: Main accused Devprakash Madhukar sent to 14-day judicial custody

Hathras (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 6 (ANI): Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the Hathras stampede incident that claimed 121 lives, was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday.
Subsequently, the accused was sent to 14 days of judicial custody.
The court asked the accused whether he had written permission of the event and from whom did he got it. He replied that he got the permission from SDM for a gathering of 80,000 people.
The court asked had they done publicity of the event, to which Madhukar said he didn't.
Notably, Devprakash Madhukar, was absconding, and a reward of Rs 1 lakh was announced for providing information leading about him.
Madhukar was finally arrested on July 5 in the national capital. Two other accused, Ramprakash Shakya and Sanju Yadav, were also arrested today, the police said.
The stampede happened during the 'Satsang' of self-styled godman Suraj Pal Singh, or 'Bhole Baba' in Fulari village in Hathras on July 2.
The investigation have revealed that Madhukar was the main organiser of the event and was responsible for collecting funds for the religious event, Hathras SP, Nipun Aggarwal said.
He had been working as a junior engineer in Etah, Uttar Pradesh since 2010 and was associated with the monk for years. He had organized the event without following proper procedures and had also collected funds for the event.
The investigation also revealed that Madhukar and his associates had not made adequate arrangements for the event, which led to the tragedy. The had also restricted police personnel from entering the event premises. The investigation is ongoing to determine if any political party was involved in funding the event, the police said.
The police is also investigating Madhukar's bank accounts, properties, other assets and his financial transactions. The investigation is ongoing.
As per the FIR, around 2,50,000 people gathered for the event, even though the permission was given for only 80,000.
Meanwhile, Suraj Pal Singh, during whose event the incident happened, broke his silence on the stampede on Saturday and said, "those who created the chaos will not be spared."
In a video statement, Suraj Pal who also goes by the name of 'Narayan Sakar Hari' expressed his grief and condoled the deaths.
"I am deeply saddened by the incident of July 2. May God give us the strength to bear this pain. Please keep faith in the government and the administration. I have faith that those who created the chaos will not be spared. Through my lawyer AP Singh, I have requested the members of the committee to stand with the bereaved families and the injured and help them throughout their lives," the self-styled godman added. (ANI)