Hathras: Satyendra Yadav (29), a driver from Delhi, arrived with his family on Tuesday morning to attend a religious 'satsang' when tragedy struck. His three-year-old son, affectionately known as Chhota, was among the 121 victims who lost their lives in the stampede that ensued.

"We never thought that such an incident would take place. As I reached my vehicle (a three-wheeler loader) along with my mother, who had come to the event from the village, I got a call from my wife...she said, ‘Come to the Pilua police station, Chhota is no more’... I, along with my wife, her two sisters and our two sons, left Delhi on Monday night at around 11 pm and by 5.30 am (on Tuesday), we reached here…The incident is indeed very devastating for my family," Yadav, who is in his village in Uttar Pradesh's Etah, said.

Recalling some of the scenes from the stampede, Yadav said, "I do not remember anything about the commotion that took place. Later on, I saw some people carrying a woman somewhere. I thought that she might have fainted (due to the weather), and hence she would be given medical treatment. I had not seriously thought about the incident… Then, I got a call from my wife. My voice was reaching her, but I could not hear what she was saying. So, I told her to come to the place where I had parked my vehicle," he said.

Rovin's last rites were conducted in their village on Tuesday night, Satyendra Yadav shared. 

In a similar account, Ramlakhan, accompanying Anad, the father of Kaavya (3) and Ayush (9), has yet to break the tragic news to him. 

"I came to know about the tragic incident around 5 pm. They (Kaavya and Ayush) had gone to the 'satsang' along with my wife, who is their paternal aunt. We belong to Shahjahanpur but I work in Jaipur. The children, along with other family members, had left Jaipur on Monday evening and they had reached the programme venue by 6 am," Ramlakhan said.

"I was very attached to both the children and on Sunday, I had spoken to them. This is a very tragic incident and a sad moment for our family. We had never expected that such an incident would take place. The children and family members had attended 'satsang' programmes on earlier occasions as well," he said, adding that he has come to know that there was overcrowding at the venue.

"The father of Ayush and Kaavya is with me (in the bus). I have not told him about the tragic news so that he does not get a shock," Ramlakhan said.

He managed to speak to his wife Rama with the help of police personnel, as she does not own a mobile phone.

"It's only the poor who meet this fate, not the rich," says Rajkumari Devi as she sits in an ambulance beside the body of her sister-in-law Ruby who died in the Hathras stampede. Ruby’s five-year-old son is also missing.

"We are yet to find him. More of our family members are on their way to Hathras," she said, sitting outside the mortuary of the government hospital here, around 400 km away from home.

Asked if she had any demands from the government, Rajkumari said, "What do we say now? There's nothing (to ask for). It's only the poor who meet this fate, not the rich."

"She was married to a family in Buxar area of Unnao. I live in Lalganj area of Raebareli. My daughter had come to my home and together we came for the satsang," said Chhedi Lal, 65. "There were around 60 people with us and we came in two buses," he said, intermittently breaking into tears as he sat next to his daughter's body in the ambulance.

Chhedi Lal informed that relatives are en route to Hathras to support affected families. The stampede marks one of the worst tragedies in recent years.

Asked about the government announcing compensation for the victims' kins, the father said, "My daughter is gone now."

The stampede occurred as the 'satsang' ended in Phulrai village, Sikandrarau area of Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh. Reports suggest it started when people slipped in the slush while running after the preacher's car.

The congregation, led by religious preacher Baba Narayan Hari, also known as Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, attracted around 2.5 lakh devotees. The tragic incident claimed mostly women's lives, with many suffocating as bodies piled up in the chaos.

PTI