Hathras stampede: ‘My mother’s body was in Agra, sister-in-law’s in Hathras & niece’s in Aligarh… whole family is gone’

All three of his family members got separated from each other amid the chaos. By the time Singh would know about their location, all three were dead and their bodies ended up in three different districts.

“I was running on the roads, the highway, hospitals. I didn’t know where they actually are. I would ask every person in a white suit – whether a doctor or any hospital staffer – if they have seen my family members,” said Singh.

At the cremation of a victim of the stampede in Hathras on Wednesday. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

“It was only late on Tuesday night that I got a call from a person in my village that he received a photo of my mother on WhatsApp and she is at a hospital in Agra. I saw a glimmer of hope, but soon the person called again to say that a government ambulance is bringing her body. The mortal remains of my little niece, Bhoomi, were found in Aligarh and my sister-in-law’s in Hathras. The whole family is gone. My brother has three more children, how will he survive now?” said Singh.

Rinku, 32, another resident of the village, has just reached home after her aunt, Son Devi, was cremated in Sokhna.

Devi, with her two nephews, had attended the Satsang. While the two men survived the stampede, Son Devi could not run to save her life. Her body was found by Rinku in a field. Around 50 km from Sokhna, Kamlesh Devi, 22 and her six-month-old daughter Chanchal were cremated around 9 pm on Wednesday in Donkeli. Their bodies had been brought there from Hathras District Hospital. It has been raining in Donkeli since the afternoon.

The satsang venue in Phulrai village of Hathras. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

The wet soil was dug to bury Chanchal’s body while her mother’s pyre burnt near a mango tree just 100 metres away. Kamlesh was married three years ago to Lala Ram of Donkeli who is an agricultural labourer and had two daughters. Both Ram and Laxmi, her two and half year old daughters kept looking at the pyre in pain which they were unable to express.