A local court here on Wednesday heard arguments in connection with framing of charges in the ongoing trial of the July 2024 stampede case before setting the next date of hearing to June 4, a lawyer said.
The case pertains to the stampede that broke out on July 2 last year during a religious gathering led by preacher Surajpal alias Narayan Sakar Hari alias Bhole Baba in Sikandrarao tehsil of Hathras district, in which 121 people lost their lives. Most of the victims were women and children.
The court of Additional District Judge (ADJ) Mahendra Srivastava heard the case. The matter was previously being heard in the District Judge's court but has now been transferred to the ADJ-I court.
During Wednesday's proceedings, senior advocate A P Singh appeared on behalf of the accused event organisers and reiterated the defence's stance.
Singh claimed that the stampede was the result of a conspiracy.
"There have been past attempts to malign the Uttar Pradesh government and this was one such orchestrated effort," he alleged.
Singh said he argued that the accused have no criminal history or background and have been volunteering for the spiritual event. Those who lost their lives were also "their own people" (followers of the preacher), he added.
Singh is also the legal counsel of Surajpal, who, however, is not mentioned as an accused in the police FIR.
"The case has now been transferred to a new judge. We have apprised the court of the entire scenario -- there are 700 witnesses, the charge-sheet runs into 10 volumes and an SIT has been constituted to probe the incident. Following this, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also ordered a judicial inquiry commission," he said.
Singh further stated that an FIR was registered and a reward of Rs 1 lakh was announced for the main accused Devprakash Madhukar.
"Eleven people have been arrested and none were apprehended by the police. We presented them ourselves. Justice must be done in this case," he said.