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Union Minister Nityanand Rai on Friday said the Central government has extended cooperation to the Uttar Pradesh government into the investigation into the stampede in Hathras in which 121 people died.
"It is a very sad and sensitive incident and that is being investigated thoroughly and whatever facts come out after the investigation, certainly the state government is keeping an eye on it and the Prime Minister is very sensitive towards such incidents," he said during an event here. "The cooperation which should have been given by the Central Government has been provided at that time and whatever elements will come out in the investigation, the state government will act on that," the Union Minister added. Meanwhile, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday morning reached Hathras in Uttar Pradesh to meet with the families of the people affected by the July 2 stampede. En route to Hathras, Gandhi also stopped in Aligarh and met with families of the victims of the tragedy that took place at a religious 'Satsang' event in Fulari village in which 121 people were killed. Bodies of all the 121 people who died in the stampede at the event of the self-styled godman Suraj Pal alias 'Bhole Baba' have been identified and handed over to their families. Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Police conducted a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri on Thursday for the self-styled godman. An FIR has been registered in the incident, naming organizers of the event. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mainpuri Sunil Kumar said yesterday that 'Bhole Baba was not found inside his ashram. Superintendent of Hathras City, Rahul Mithas also said that they did not find the preacher in the ashram. On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the site of the tragedy and ordered 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 Judicial Commission will investigate the stampede incident over the next two months and submit its report to the State Government. As per the prima facie report, the stampede took place when devotees rushed to seek blessings and collect soil from around the preacher's feet, but were stopped from doing so by his security personnel. They then started pushing one another due to which several people fell down triggering chaos at the site. (ANI)
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