A venue for 80,000 people held more than three times the number, about 2.5 lakh. This overcrowding is one of the primary reasons for the stampede at the ‘satsang’, which is a kind of prayer meeting, at Ratibhanpur Mughalgarhi village in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh yesterday that led to the deaths of 121 people, a number likely to go up.

The fact of the overcrowding is mentioned in the FIR that was filed at Sikandara Rao police station (Sikandra Rao is the subdivision where the village is located) on Tuesday; permission had been given for only 80,000.

The FIR names the ‘mukhya sewadar’ (translates to ‘chief server’) of the event, Devprakash Madhukar, who is a close aide of the self-styled godman, and the organisers, according to a report by the news agency, PTI.

But surprisingly, it has not named Suraj Pal, who goes by the name of Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or simply ‘Bhole Baba’, the godman whose event it was (he has been organising such prayer meetings in the region and adjoining districts for 27 years). The FIR only says that the ‘satsang’ was held by Suraj Pal.

However, according to an Indian Express report, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, after visiting the site yesterday, when asked whether an FIR would be registered against the preacher, said, “Bilkul hogi, ye badi ghatana hai (Certainly, this is a big incident).”

Sikandra Rau subdivisional magistrate Ravendra Kumar told PTI on Tuesday, the day of the disaster, that the stampede took place when devotees tried to get a glimpse of the Bhole Baba; many also wanted to collect some soil from around the baba’s feet. Most deaths were due to suffocation, hospital sources said.

The omission of the Bhole Baba from the FIR has raised questions about whether a section of the state administration is trying to protect the godman.

State officials said 78 people were involved in organising the ‘satsang’, including a school principal, teachers, an engineer and a soldier.