Hathras Stampede: Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is planning to visit Hathras, where a stampede at a religious gathering left over 120 people dead, and interact with those affected by the tragedy, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said on Thursday. "It was an unfortunate incident. The leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha (Rahul Gandhi) is planning to visit Hathras. He will go there and interact with the people who are affected..." Venugopal told a media person.

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A "Satsang" (religious gathering) organised by a self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as Bhole Baba, in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras turned into a tragic incident as 123 people, mostly women, were killed. According to preliminary investigation, the stampede was caused after devotees were pushed by the godman's security and a "slippery slope". A crowd of more than 2 lakh people was present in the Satsang pandal that was held on July 2. 

Soon after the matter came to the fore, an FIR was filed against the organisers of the religious congregation. However, Bhole Baba has not been named in the FIR. A police team reached his ashram on Wednesday but was not allowed to enter by Bhole Baba’s disciples.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh police conducted a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri on Thursday. While the search operation continued to find Baba, the self-proclaimed godman has blamed "anti-social elements" for the deadly stampede in Hathras. In a statement, Baba expressed his condolences over the incident and claimed that the chaos erupted a long time after he had already left the venue.