Bhole Baba, aka Narayan Sakar Hari aka Suraj Pal on Wednesday reacted for the first time on the stampede during his ‘satsang’ that claimed 121 lives and left several injured on Tuesday. Through his lawyer, Bhole Baba expressed condolence to the bereaved families of the deceased. He claimed that the stampede was carried out by “anti-social” elements. He also stated that he had left before the incident took place.
According to reports, advocate AP Singh is representing Bhole Baba. He is the same advocate who represented the four convicts of the Nirbhaya case, who were hanged till death.
On behalf of Bhole Baba, his advocate, AP Singh said, “We will make sure the victims are short of no resources, be it medicine, healthcare, or treatment. We condemn allegations that a stampede happened while women tried to touch his feet. He never allows such an act.”
Bhole Baba aka Narayan Sakar Hari will cooperate in the investigation in all possible ways, Singh added.
“I will represent legally all those who are named in the FIR. We believe this all was done by some anti-social elements,” Singh further added.
Sources said that an investigation into all the ‘ashrams’ and lands owned by Bhole Baba has begun. Another ‘satsang’ of Bhole Baba, slated for Thursday in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra, has been cancelled.
Earlier in the day, police filed an FIR against the organisers, accusing them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions with 2.5 lakh people crammed into a venue in which only 80,000 were permitted. Without naming anyone, the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “Some people have the tendency to politicise such sad and painful incidents.”
“These people have the nature of ‘chori bhi aur seenazori bhi’. Everyone knows with whom the gentleman’s (preacher) photos are and with whom he has political connections. You must have seen that during the rallies in the past days, where was the stampede and who was behind it? It is necessary for us to know about it. Those who play with the lives of innocent people will be held accountable for this,” he added.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath also announced a judicial probe into the Hathras stampede on Wednesday.
Along with the organisers, the UP CM held the “sevadars” (helpers) responsible for the death of devotees. “They (sevadars) should have helped manage the crowd. But what happened instead was devotees died one by one as the sevadars eloped from the stampede site,” he said.
“We have formed an SIT, led by ADG Agra. It has submitted a preliminary report. They have been told to investigate this deeply. There are several angles that need to be investigated. The state government has decided to go for a judicial inquiry which will be led by a retired High Court judge,” he added.
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