The Hathras incident, which tragically resulted in the deaths of 121 followers during a religious gathering led by a self-styled godman last week, has now escalated to the Supreme Court. There is a demand for an investigation led by a retired top court judge to uncover the truth.

Supreme Court lawyer Vishal Tiwari has filed a petition demanding that the stampede tragedy be investigated by a five-member expert committee under the guidance of a retired top court judge.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has ordered the petition to be listed, and the Supreme Court registry has scheduled the hearing for Friday.

The petitioner also demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government submit a status report on the incident and take legal action against those, including officials, found responsible. The petition urged the Supreme Court to formulate necessary guidelines to address such incidents in the future.

A Special Investigative Team (SIT) investigating the incident has attributed overcrowding as the primary cause of the stampede at the satsang of 'Bhole Baba', also known as Suraj Pal Singh. The SIT, led by Additional Director General of Police (Agra Zone) Anupam Kulshrestha and Aligarh Divisional Commissioner Chaitra V, submitted its report to the Yogi Adityanath government today.

The FIR filed in connection with the incident states that the organizers of the 'satsang' had sought permission for a gathering of 80,000 people, but over 2.5 lakh followers ultimately attended.

Reports indicate that the stampede began when the 'godman' was departing, and his followers rushed to gather the dust stirred by his car's tires, believing it to be a blessing. The godman's private security guards reportedly began pushing his followers, leading to chaos where people slipped and were trampled in the open field, as per the subdivisional magistrate's report.