Self-styled godman ‘Bhole Baba’ aka Narayan Saakar Hari is likely to be arrested soon after more than 100 people died in a stampede at his ‘satsang’ (religious congregation) in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on Tuesday. ‘Bhole Baba’, whose original name is Suraj Pal, is believed to be at his ‘ashram’ in Mainpuri, about 100 km from near the Phulrai village, where he held the doomed event attended by lakhs of devotees.
Many senior police officials have reached the Hathras stampede site, while others are at his ashram, the Ram Kutir Charitable Trust. Besides police personnel, an NDTV team at the ashram also saw his followers gathering in large numbers.
In Hathras, a forensic unit and a dog squad visited the stampede site. Teams of the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were also present.
At least 121 people, including over 100 women and seven children, were killed and 28 others injured in the Hathras stampede. The Uttar Pradesh government said that six victims are yet to be identified.
A compensation of Rs 2 lakh each has been announced for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.
How Hathras Stampede Happened
Officials said the place where the Hathras stampede happened was too small to accommodate the crowd that had gathered there on Tuesday afternoon. A woman who attended the ‘satsang’ said the stampede broke out as the crowd began to leave.
After the ‘satsang’, when he was leaving, there was a rush among his followers to collect dust from his car’s tyre trail. This triggered the stampede in which hundreds of people were trampled.
Suraj Pal’s aides, known as ‘sevadars’, stopped the crowd from approaching the ‘godman’ and the rushing people fell on each other, suffocating the ones below.
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Devotees had come to the ‘satsang’ from various districts of Uttar Pradesh as well as neighboring states.
A high-level committee has been formed to investigate the incident.
The panel will be headed by the Additional Director General of Police, Agra, and the Aligarh Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said.
Case Against Hathras Satsang Organisers
A case has been filed against the ‘satsang organisers’ in Hathras, officials said. According to the FIR, permission was granted for 80,000 people but more than 2.5 lakh devotees attended the event.
“Due to the uncontrollable crowd leaving the venue, devotees sitting on the ground were crushed. On the other side of the road, the crowd running in the water and mud-filled fields was forcibly stopped by the organizing committee with sticks, due to which the pressure of the crowd kept increasing and women, children, and men kept getting crushed,” the FIR said.
“The police and administrative officials present on the spot made every possible effort and sent the injured people to the hospital with the available resources. But no cooperation was given by the organizers,” the FIR added.
ALSO READ | Case Filed Against Hathras Satsang Organisers, No Mention Of Bhole Baba
They have been charged under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by the public servant), and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the new criminal code Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Godman Behind Hathras ‘Satsang’
Narayan Saakar Hari has often claimed that he has worked with the Intelligence Bureau. He also told his devotees that he was inclined towards spirituality even when he was working and had resigned in the 1990s to pursue the spiritual path.
Born in Bahadur Nagari village in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district to a farmer, Nanne Lal, and Katori Devi, he completed his initial studies in the village.
He was reportedly a head constable with the Local Intelligence Unit of the UP police. He left his police job in 1999 and then changed his name to Narayan Saakar Hari.
He claims he began working for the Intelligence Bureau after college and turned towards spirituality during his time there.
Hathras Stampede Helpline Numbers
The Uttar Pradesh government has launched two helpline numbers — 05722227041 and 05722227042 — after the Hathras stampede incident.
