A day after 121 people died in the stampede in Bhole Baba’s satsang in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district, the Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday failed to name the preacher in their FIR. Since the incident on Tuesday, the preacher has maintained a low profile, with the police saying he hadn’t turned up at his sprawling ashram in Mainpuri.
Bhole Baba, also known as Baba Narayan Hari and Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, left his position in the police force more than two decades ago to become a religious preacher. He oversees multiple ashrams, with the largest one located in Mainpuri.
On Wednesday, the police increased security around Bhole Baba’s Mainpuri ashram. However, they reported that the self-proclaimed godman was not on the premises.
Bhole Baba, in his sermons, often equates himself with God.
“I go to temples, gurdwaras, mosques, and churches. I reach wherever I am called from. And if I am not called, I don’t go,” he says in one of his sermon videos, according to PTI.
A preliminary report indicated that the stampede occurred when Bhole Baba’s security detail pushed his followers as they tried to collect the dirt around his feet, with the slippery slope worsening the situation.