"If I Find My Mother...": A Son's Desperate Hunt After Hathras Stampede
NDTV
123 people, mostly women and some children, were crushed to death after a stampede in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras following a 'prayer meet' by a 'godman' calling himself Bhole Baba.
A son's desperate search for his mother - one of many heartbreaking stories from Uttar Pradesh's Hathras after 123 people were killed in a stampede at a poorly-planned public meeting by 'godman' Bhole Baba, who preached divinity from a swank 'ashram' built on 13 acres of land worth Rs 4 crore.
Meenesh Kumar's plight mirrors those of hundreds - friends and families of those who died, crushed under the feet of panicked fellow worshippers - who, hours after the tragedy, run from one hospital to another, and back again, praying, ironically, their father, mother, son, or daughter is alive.
For many those prayers will fall on deaf ears, and they must shuffle into cold-hearted morgues to identify their kin. For the rest, and a tearful Mr Kumar is hoping to be among them, relief awaits.
