Hathras stampede: UP Government orders probe by 3-member judicial commission

The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a three-member judicial commission to probe the Hathras stampede that left more than 120 people dead..The commission will be headed by former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Brijesh Kumar Srivastav (II) and will also include IAS officer Hemant Rao and retired IPS officer Bhavesh Kumar as its members..The Hathras stampede is reported to have taken place at a satsang organised to meet a self-styled godman, Narayan Saakar Hari alias ‘Bhole Baba,' who was earlier known as Suraj Pal.As per reports, the event drew in a crowd of over two lakh devotees, although permission was only granted to have around 80,000 attendees.A criminal case has been registered in the matter by the Uttar Pradesh police against the organisers of the event. .As per the direction issued by the government, the commission is tasked to complete the investigation within two months and will look into various aspects of the case including the following:- whether this incident is an accident or a conspiracy or the possibility of any other planned criminal incident; and - whether the arrangements made by the district administration and police for crowd control was adequate or not.It will also investigate whether there was compliance by the organisers with the conditions subject to which permission was granted for the event by the district administration.Further, the commission will recommend preventive measures in order to avoid any such incidents in future. .On July 3, two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) were filed before the Allahabad High Court and Supreme Court on the issue..The plea before the Supreme Court has sought the formation of a five-member expert committee under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge to probe the incident. .The plea before the Allahabad High Court has sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and an independent judicial inquiry..[Read UP Government Order]