Surajpal Yadav, known as Narayan Sakar Hari or Bhole Baba, a self-styled godman and former constable, has massive devotees who attend his ‘Manav-Dharma’ programmes. He had organised a ‘Satsang’ (religious gathering) on July 2, which affected 121 families whose own members got killed during a stampede at the event.
Mostly slain were women and children. According to reports, Bhole Baba’s servitors desisted the attendees from leaving the venue because of heat and humidity, as the preacher could go first. Officials said the place was overcrowded; a whopping 2.5 lakh people had gathered that day. However, the permission was granted for 80,000 people. The FIR mentions that organisers hid the number of devotees attending the event and adds that the evidence regarding clothes and shoes left at the spot after the stampede was tampered with. It doesn’t include Bhole Baba’s name even a month after the incident, as he remains scot-free.
As per the SIT report, the SDM negligently failed to check the venue, and the organisers fled the spot after the stampede. Suspended include SDM Ravindra Kumar, Circle Officer Anand Kumar, Station House Officer Ashish Kumar, Tehsildar Sushil Kumar, the chowki in charge of Kachora Manveer Singh, and the chowki in charge of Pora Brijesh Pandey. The SIT also skipped the mention of Bhole Baba.
“There was no other way out and people fell on each other leading to the stampede,” HT quoted the teenager as saying. “But for now Bhole Baba has not been named in the FIR because permission for the satsang at Hathras was not sought in his name but in the name of absconding main accused Dev Prakash Madhukar. He is named in FIR but is absconding,” Mathur stated, Inspector General Of Police, Aligarh Range.
Organising committee members, two Sevadars, Dev Prakash Madhukar and Bhole Baba’s aide were arrested. The anguish of the victims’ families was evident as they wanted the arrest of Bhole Baba. “An investigation is being conducted as to why an FIR was not registered against him. Baba is guilty of the stampede. If he were not guilty, he would not have gone underground like this. We want the government to file an FIR against Baba as soon as possible, and he should be arrested”, India Today quoted Vipin Kumar.
“I see Baba as an enemy. If he could not visit the accident site on the day, he should have at least faced the media that day”, Shekhar, another victim’s kin, said as per India Today.
CM Yogi Adityanath announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured. After meeting the victims’ families, Leader of Opposition and MP Rahul Gandhi urged Adityanath to increase the compensation and asked for severe punishment for all involved.
MP Akhilesh Yadav from the Samajwadi Party got irked when a reporter questioned his presence at Bhole Baba’s event a year ago.
Bhole Baba, who has two dozen luxurious Ashrams, was arrested in 2000 after locals pelted stones on police to arrest him for falsely claiming to bring a 15-year-old dead girl back to life, HT quoted Tejveer Singh, retired deputy SP, as saying.
The administrative failure under the Yogi Adityanath government to keep the event hassle-free again showed laxity towards such incidents without proper verification. The administration didn’t care to be vigilant about the overcrowding and couldn’t stop the ‘Satsang’. It was not the first time Bhole Baba had violated such rules. In 2022, he sought permission to hold a ‘Satsang’ in Farrukhabad district, which was supposed to attract 50 people. However, 50,000 devotees turned up.
The possibility of a VIP shield and political patronage to Bhole Baba can’t be dodged as he abandoned his dead devotees. He resurfaced and visited Kasganj Ashram a few days after the incident. Is the number of those killed not enough for UP police to question and summon Bhole Baba? There is no bulldozing of his Ashrams as the government is known for doing it on the properties of criminals. The blood of 121 innocent lives is on his hands; he has sway over Dalits and OBCs, influence in 30 districts of the state, 25 Lok Sabha constituencies, and holds over 130 assembly constituencies ahead of by-polls on 10 assembly seats.
