Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, reached Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on Friday morning to meet with the families of those killed in the stampede earlier this week.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi also visited Aligarh to meet some affected families. “He (Rahul Gandhi) assured that he will help us in every possible way through his party,” a family member said, reported PTI.

After meeting the bereaved families, Rahul Gandhi said, “A lot of families have been affected and many people have died… I do not want to politicise this. There have been deficiencies in the system… I think they should get more compensation as these are very poor families. I request the CM of UP to provide compensation open-heartedly… They need it now, more compensation should be given as soon as possible… The family members said that the police arrangement was not enough. There were lapses…”

A satsang by a local preacher on Tuesday (July 2) turned into a tragedy as 121 people, mostly women, were killed in a stampede. The event in Phulrai village was addressed by self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as Bhole Baba.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested six satsang organisers, including two women, in connection with the stampede. According to Aligarh IG Shalabh Mathur, “They are all members of the organising committee and worked as ‘Sevadars’.”

The FIR names ‘mukhya sevadar’ Devprakash Madhukar, who is currently absconding. Meanwhile, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a judicial probe led by retired High Court judge Brijesh Kumar Srivastava and two other retired IAS officers into the incident. The self-styled preacher Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or ‘Bhole Baba’ has not been named in the FIR yet.