Hathras (UP), March 19 A district court on Thursday recorded the testimony of a police sub-inspector in connection with the 2024 Hathras stampede case. The tragedy, which occurred during a religious gathering, resulted in the deaths of 121 people.
Defence counsel Munna Singh Pundir said that Sub-Inspector Yadunath Singh deposed before the court of Additional Sessions Judge Mahendra Srivastava in Court No. 1.
During his testimony, Singh told the court that he was deployed at the Phulrai cut on the day of the incident and did not witness the stampede, the defence lawyer said.
The court has fixed March 27 as the next date of hearing, he added.
The incident occurred on July 2, 2024, between Mugalgadhi and Phulrai villages under the Sikandra Rao police station area. The stampede broke out during a 'satsang' led by Surajpal alias Narayan Sakar Hari or Bhole Baba.
The victims, the majority of whom were women and children, died in the chaos that followed the gathering.
According to the prosecution, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has already filed a chargesheet in the matter. While the initial hearings on the chargesheet have concluded in the district court, the trial and evidence proceedings are currently underway.
Police have named 11 people as accused in the case, including Baba’s aide Devprakash Madhukar, holding them responsible for the tragedy. All the accused are currently out on bail.
The police had earlier submitted a chargesheet running into around 3,200 pages against the accused.