The stampede at a religious event in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras which saw a death toll of over 116, has put the spotlight on Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari aka Bhole Baba, a religious preacher based in Mainpuri.
The incident allegedly happened as the victims were running behind Baba's vehicle when he was leaving the venue. Police officials say the victims used to collect the soil the preacher walked on and the stampede happened when some of them bent down to do so.
Anyhow, after police officials swooped on Baba's abode at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district, he was nowhere to be found. "We did not find Baba ji inside the campus...He is not here..." said Deputy SP Sunil Kumar. However, it is not yet clear whether he would be charged.
Who is Bhole Baba?
Local media reports claim Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari was a constable with the Uttar Pradesh police till 1990 before turning into a spiritual preacher. With a considerable following across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and even Madhya Pradesh, not much is known about the preacher, other than that his name was Suraj Pal.
Hailing from Etah district, Bhole Baba is not your typical preacher. Clad in white shirt, white pants, sneakers and a white cap, Bhole Baba preaches along with his wife. His 'satsangs', where he speaks about ditching worldly pleasures before dedicating themselves to god, are called 'Manav Mangal Milan Sadbhavna Samagam,' by his devotees.
Though the Baba himself does not run social media accounts, he has a group of dedicated followers who upload videos and photographs of the preacher, with devotional songs in the background. These videos provide updates about his upcoming programmes and various aspects related to his events, such as how to secure a booking.
Many devotees often appear in the videos to give testimonials about Baba and how he helped them with financial support and cure diseases. There are also reports that many politicians, including SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, visited him during election campaigns.
"Bhole Baba belongs to the Jatav community and has a profound influence among the SC/ST and OBC sections. Muslims are also among his followers,” a police officer told The Times of India.
He had run-ins with laws too. In 2022, when the Covid protocol was in place, Bhole Baba held a satsang in Farrukhabad. Though the district administration only allowed 50 attendees, a whopping 50,000 people attended the event, flouting all norms. He was also investigated in connection with a land grabbing case in Karsui village of Bidhnu area in Kanpur.