Sikandra Rao, Hathras: A tempo carrying the body of 22-year-old Kamlesh reached her village, Daunkeli, around 9 pm Wednesday. As four men laid down the plank carrying her body, women wailed inconsolably.
A man stood near them, holding the body of Kamlesh’s seven-month-old baby, enveloped in a white sheet and the darkness of the night.
Kamlesh and her daughter died in the 2 July stampede at Bhole Baba‘s satsang in the nearby Fulrai village, Hathras.
From Sokhna village, Vinod Kumar’s mother Jamanti Devi (70), wife Rajkumari (40), and daughter Bhumi (10) also went for Bhole Baba’s satsang and never returned.
They are among the 123 people who died in the Hathras stampede. The police, so far, have arrested six people in connection with the case.
On Wednesday, Kamlesh’s body was adorned with sindoor and bindi and covered in new dupattas by the women in her village. Later, villagers carried the bodies of the mother and the daughter to the fields for the last rites.
Kamlesh’s mother-in-law, who did not want to be named, told ThePrint that Kamlesh had faith in Bhole Baba but had never attended his events before Tuesday.
“Many people from our village were going to the satsang. Kamlesh wanted to see this Baba who they were going to see. She attended the programme out of curiosity,” said her mother-in-law.
The women claimed that roughly 50 people from the village had travelled to the satsang in private vehicles. Situated 12 km from the satsang venue, Daunkeli has a population of mostly Jatavs and Thakurs. The villagers said mostly the Jatavs are followers of Bhole Baba.
Kamlesh’s sister Rajni said that Kamlesh’s husband is a daily wage labourer, and her death has destroyed their family.
Kamlesh also left behind a daughter, aged two years only.
“She has left a child in my lap. Now, there is no one to look after her,” added the mother-in-law, crying.
‘Bodies scattered everywhere’
Their neighbour, Savitri (75), said that many villagers were followers of Bhole Baba because his words often healed people, and several visited him, primarily for treatments.
Gudiya, who lives nearby, also went to the satsang with Kamlesh but was saved when chaos broke out. She said there was a sudden rush after the baba left, and people started falling on each other.
“People fell on top of each other, leading to a pile of people. I also got buried in it. All my clothes were torn. But, some local people pulled me out and gave me clothes,” Gudiya told ThePrint.
She alleged that police presence at the satsang was inadequate. It was the local people who were helping the victims.
“People placed many bodies in private tempos and vehicles and took them to Sikandra Rao Government Hospital,” said Gudiya.
“I started searching for Kamlesh but couldn’t find her anywhere….I managed to call home and informed my family about the incident. After that, members of her family reached Sikandra Rao Hospital, where they found bodies scattered everywhere,” she said.
Amid mourning, another woman recounted that the bodies lay scattered on the floor of the hospital, with no arrangements or doctors around.
Also read: Inadequate police arrangements led to Hathras stampede, says Rahul after meeting bereaved families
After chaos, eerie calm at hospital
Kamlesh and her daughter’s bodies were found at Sikandra Rao Government Hospital. After the incident, the hospital was quiet on Thursday as officials strived to manage its reputation.
Many of those, who were wounded in the stampede, are currently receiving treatment at the hospital. In a room inside the pink-coloured hospital building, five medical staffers, including a senior, stood on alert as some of the wounded were still arriving at the hospital.
A woman arrived, dressed in a maroon and green saree, clutching her waist, and told the senior woman staff that she too was caught in the stampede. The saree-clad woman said she had come for treatment at 4.30 pm Wednesday but found the hospital empty, so she was back the next day. The senior staff member denied her allegation, asserting that the hospital was open 24 hours.
Recalling the events on 2 July, the senior staff said that her colleague first informed her of three bodies of children, aged under five years, arriving at the hospital. She found the locals, who had retrieved the children, as they were placing the bodies on the stretcher and realised that the tragedy had occurred during the satsang, with more bodies expected to arrive.
Half an hour later, the entire hospital was filled with bodies.
“I had never seen anything like this before. The entire hospital was strewn with bodies. One of our staff members fell ill upon witnessing the scene,” the senior staff told ThePrint.
She said it’s only a 30-bed hospital, and on that day, roughly 100 bodies arrived, along with many injured.
The chief medical officer called back the hospital staff who had already gone home.
A senior doctor, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that at 6 pm on 2 July, they got calls, asking them to return to their shift, informing them about the mishap.
“We also called some private doctors for assistance. Afterwards, the bodies and injured were transferred to other district hospitals,” the doctor said.
The senior staff said Sikandra Rao and other district hospitals are at quite some distance, which should be reduced.
“The distance between all district hospitals is too much. It should be reduced. There is a significant gap in the health sector. The victims faced a lot of difficulties,” she added.
Also read: Massive hunt for Hathras stampede key accused launched, inter-state searches for Baba too
3 family members, bodies found in 3 places
Vinod Kumar, a resident of Sokhna village, found mother Jamanti Devi’s body in Agra, wife Rajkumari’s in Hathras, and daughter Bhumi’s in Sikandra Rao District Hospital.
On Thursday, Vinod sat in their house with his three sons, crying.
The four performed the last rites just a day ago. When they returned home, they tore Bhole Baba’s poster from the wall and threw it away.
“I had tried to explain to my mother that the baba was a fraud. Don’t trust him. But she didn’t listen to me. That baba destroyed our home,” Vinod told ThePrint.
Varsha, Jamanti’s daughter-in-law, said that her mother-in-law held the baba in high esteem. Roughly ten years ago, when a family member fell seriously ill and conventional treatments failed, a neighbour suggested seeking Baba’s blessings.
Varsha said that after seeking Baba’s blessings, her relative’s health improved, and Jamanti started to believe in the baba’s powers.
“She used to scold us and tell us to go for baba’s darshan. She was very stubborn. She even forcefully took me once, but since then, I have not gone back,” said Varsha.
“She went to the satsang with Rajkumari and Bhumi without telling anyone at home. She had hardly any money that day and went with Rs 200,” she added.
During the incident, Varsha was visiting a relative’s house. There, she first heard that many people at the satsang had died. When she called Rajkumari’s elder son, he told her that his grandmother, mother and sister had gone to see the baba.
On getting information about the stampede from Varsha, Vinod and his sons went out to look for their family members.
Vinod couldn’t find his mother at local hospitals. But, a person from his village had gone to Agra District Hospital, and Vinod received photos of the bodies there at 2 am and identified Jamanti.
Vinod said he holds the baba responsible for the deaths in his family and demanded strict action against him.
Also read: No CCTV, fire engine at Hathras satsang. Police say godman did not allow them to enter venue
Faith in baba
However, despite such a tragedy, many still have faith in Bhole Baba. Many defended him, saying he did not incite the stampede and that the public was responsible for creating chaos.
“Baba never accepted any donations; he only preached. People used to naman him, which benefited them,” said Savitri from Daunkeli village.
She recalled that a few years ago, her nephew had an accident which caused him a serious injury. He underwent treatment at several places, but there was no improvement. After that, the doctor suggested surgery.
“During this time, I prayed to the parmatma (Bhole Baba) — that if you are God, please cure my nephew. Baba listened to me, and my nephew got cured. Baba is the incarnation of Vishnu and saved his life. We have benefitted from Baba,” claimed Savitri.
Varsha, however, said that the baba used to speak rudely with his devotees. She recounted an incident from seven years ago when she attended his satsang, where a woman sang some songs she had composed for the baba. The woman, Varsha added, sang slightly off-key, angering the baba, who scolded her loudly.
“He used to shout and humiliate many devotees. Which baba behaves like this?” Varsha asked.
The Daunkali villagers and Kamlesh’s relatives said that in most villages, there are committees, called Satya ke Sang, run by Baba’s ashram. They influence people by suggesting that seeking blessings from the baba can resolve all their household issues.
“Some people told me to visit the baba. I went to Uttarakhand, but I realised from his preaching that his words were false. He is fake. After that, I never went again,” said one of Kamlesh’s relatives.
Kamlesh’s mother-in-law said she is worried about Kamlesh’s surviving two-year-old daughter. All the other relatives now want to stay away from the baba.
In Sokhna village, Vinod is also in a dilemma about how he, alone, will take care of his sons.
“We should not believe in any fake baba. If the baba is God, why didn’t he save my family? We only believe in Baba Ambedkar. We should stay away from blind faith,” he says, crying and pointing towards a picture of Ambedkar on the wall.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)