Surajpal alias Bhole Baba, the self-styled godman who presided over a religious incident that led to the death of over 120 people in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district, tried to downplay the tragedy stating that people who died in the stampede were anyway destined to die.
‘Honi ko kaun taal sakta hai, jo aaya hai, use ek din jana hai (No one can prevent the turn of fate, one who has taken birth, has to die one day),” Bhole Baba said in an interview with news agency IANS.
IANS Exclusive
— IANS (@ians_india) July 17, 2024
Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh: ''…Honi ko kaun taal sakta hai, Jo aaya hai, use ek din Jana hi hai…'' – Narayan Sakar Hari (Bhole Baba) on Hathras Stampede pic.twitter.com/REk8JgqwcM
Who is Bhole Baba?
Surajpal hails from Bahadur village in Etah district and comes from Jatav Samaj. He claims to be a former employee of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). However, as per reports, he had worked with the state police and allegedly took VRS 26 years ago to begin delivering religious sermons. He then started giving religious and spiritual sermons and changed his maiden name and now goes by various aliases Bhole Baba or Narayan Sakar Hari. There is a dispute about his claims of being in IB with media reports stating that he was allegedly in the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) of the state Police.
Bhole Baba claims that he directly received preachings from the Almighty and is claimed that he is not a follower of any ‘guru’. His Satsangs are referred to as ‘Manav Mangal Milan Sadbhavna Samagam.’ They are mostly organised on Tuesdays in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. He is often seen in a white suit, tie, and shoes, and sometimes in kurta-pajama.
He is more popular as ‘Sakar Vishwa Hari Baba’. Bhole Baba is often accompanied by his wife at sermons. As per reports, his followers are mostly people from the lower economic strata. They particularly hail from the Agra and Aligarh divisions of the Braj region.
Hathras stampede tragedy
On Tuesday, July 2, a stampede at a private religious event in Hathras claimed 121 lives, leaving many others injured. The stampede took place during a Satsang for Sant Bhole Baba. Most of the dead in the tragedy are women.
A religious congregation was organised at Phulrai village in the district in which a large number of devotees were present. There was a stampede at the end of the congregation when hundreds of devotees tried to leave the venue together leading to a stampede.
The venue was small and overcrowded. Because of the suffocation in small areas in hot and humid weather, the devotees rushed out as soon as the Satsang ended, leading to the stampede.
