‘Bhole Baba’ absconding, Mainpuri cops say godman at center of Hathras horror not in ashram

After rumours claimed that Bhole Baba is lodging at a lavish ashram of Mainpuri, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mainpuri Sunil Kumar on Thursday said that “Baba has not been found inside the ashram.”

“There are 40-50 sevadars inside the ashram. He (‘Bhole Baba’) is not inside, neither he was yesterday nor he is today…” said DSP Mainpuri Sunil Kumar.

SP City Rahul Mithas said, “I had come to check the security of the ashram. Nobody was found here.”

Response of Baba after stampede:
A lawyer representing Bhole Baba claimed Wednesday that “anti-social elements” were behind the stampede at the preacher’s ‘satsang’ in which 121 people died a day back, and contradicted preliminary reports that the tragedy struck when his followers rushed to collect the soil touched by his feet. According to preliminary government reports, the stampede occurred when a large number of his followers, mostly women, rushed towards Baba Narayan Hari alias Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba when he was leaving to get a closer glimpse of the preacher and collect his “charan raj”.

“Some anti-social elements hatched a conspiracy. When Narayan Saakar Hari left the venue, his vehicles left, our volunteers and followers failed to understand what was happening due to the conspiracy. This was done as per a plan and should be investigated,” lawyer A P Singh told PTI.

Panel to investigate the incident:
In view of the tragic Hathras stampede that claimed 121 lives, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Wednesday constituted a three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava to ensure comprehensiveness of the subject matter and transparency in the inquiry.The three members of the Commission are Brijesh Kumar Srivastava, Hon’ble Justice (Retd.), Allahabad High Court (chairman), Hemant Rao (Retd., IAS) Member and Bhavesh Kumar Singh (Retd., IPS) Member.

The Judicial Commission will investigate the various aspects of the Hathras stampede in the next two months and after the investigation, a report will be submitted to the State Government.

The preacher ‘Bhole Baba’ identified as Suraj Pal is also known by the names of Narayan Sakar Hari and Jagat Guru Vishwahari.

What happened at Satsang?
As per the prima facie report, the devotees rushed to seek blessings and collect soil from around the preacher’s feet, but were stopped by the security personnel of ‘Bhole Baba’. Later, they started pushing one another due to which several people fell to the ground, leading to chaos at the site.

Some people ran towards the adjoining field filled with mud, due to which they fell and were crushed by other devotees, the report stated.”The injured were taken to the hospital by the police and security personnel present at the site”, it further said.

Meanwhile, an FIR has been lodged against Devprakash Madhukar, referred to as ‘Mukhya Sewadar’ and other organizers of the ‘Satsang’. The preacher ‘Bhole Baba’, who is currently untraceable, has not been named in the FIR.

Uttar Pradesh police have launched a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district.FIR has been filed under Sections 105, 110, 126(2), 223, and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

(with ANI inputs)