In addition to denying responsibility, the preacher who oversaw the crammed gathering in India on Tuesday that resulted in the deaths of over 120 people by crushing them, also promised to assist the police in their investigation.
The self-styled guru Bhole Baba’s attorney told the BBC that the crush happened “because of some anti-social elements” and accused his client of being the victim of a “criminal conspiracy hatched against” him. According to his attorney AP Singh, Bhole Baba, whose true name is Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari, will fully cooperate with the investigation.
Women and children attending the satsang, a Hindu religious festival, in Hathras district made up nearly all of the dead. Police reported on Thursday that they had detained six members of the committee that was in charge of the event. In India, the case has provoked outrage and raised concerns about inadequate security measures.
“A preacher in India disputes responsibility for crush deaths.”
Additionally, Mr. Singh refuted rumours that festival security caused panic by shooing away attendees attempting to obtain Bhole Baba’s approval. “Absolutely untrue accusations,” Mr. Singh informed the BBC. “Followers are always helped by security personnel.”One of the worst crushes that India has seen in a long time is this one.
Unsettling pictures of individuals transporting injured people to hospitals in pick-up trucks, tuk tuks, and even motorcycles have gone viral on the internet.
The crush happened in the village of Pulrai, where Bhole Baba was hosting a religious assembly.
Although authorities had granted permission for 80,000 people to assemble, according to an early police report, only about 250,000 people showed up for the event.
According to the report, the preacher’s departure sparked the chaos. As hundreds of people rushed towards the preacher as he was leaving the venue, witnesses said that people lost their footing and began falling on top of each other. Survivors said many of those sitting and crouching on the ground were crushed as people ran after his vehicle.
One of the first on the scene, local resident Yogesh Yadav, told the BBC that hundreds of women ran after Bhole Baba’s car as he was leaving. “Some crossed the highway to get a better glimpse of his car. In the melee, many women fell in the drain adjacent to the highway. People started falling on top of each other,” Mr Yadav said.
The police document added that some people tried to cross the road to a patch of mud-soaked fields, but were forcibly stopped by the organisers and were crushed. Bhole Baba went by Suraj Pal at first, but he later changed his name to Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari.
The preacher was a police constable in Uttar Pradesh, but he was suspended from his position after a criminal complaint was made against him, a senior police officer in the state told BBC Hindi. The senior officer stated that although he was cleared by the court and returned to the force, he resigned from his position in 2002.
Throughout Hathras and the surrounding areas, the preacher has gathered hundreds of thousands of followers. About 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Pulrai village, in Mainpuri, is where Bhole Baba is reputed to have an ashram. He is currently at his ashram, his lawyer told the BBC. The initial police complaint does not name the preacher.
[BBC]
