 "Hathras stampede: The life and crimes of 'Bhole Baba', the preacher who held the satsang")
Suraj Pal, often referred to as Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or Bhole Baba, is a self-proclaimed godman who has a sizable fan base in Uttar Pradesh.
He often hosts “satsangs” (prayer meetings) for his devotees, who flock to the gatherings to hear him speak.
One such event, held in Hathras , descended into tragedy on Tuesday when a rush to collect dust from under the godman’s feet caused a fatal stampede that killed at least 121 people, many of whom were women and children.
Here’s a look at his life and crimes.
From cop to a luxurious godman
Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj in a Dalit family, Suraj Pal served as a head constable working with the Intelligence Unit for over 18 years. His supporters assert that he has made claims to have worked with the Intelligence Bureau, according to The Times Now.
He says he left the service voluntarily in 1999, but it’s unclear if that was a voluntary retirement or a result of termination.
He resigned to start his spiritual journey and disclosed to his followers that he was drawn to spirituality and world peace.
On Wednesday, authorities announced that they had obtained records that included information about some of his enormous fortune, which included a 13-acre “five-star” ashram in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh. Just the ashram’s land is worth Rs 4 crore, as per NDTV.
According to the records, Mainpuri Ashram is located across 21 bighas and has several rooms with amenities comparable to those found in five-star hotels.
His followers meet on Tuesdays at his several properties to follow his religious teachings.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe self-styled preacher changed from wearing saffron robes to formal white attire.
In his sermons, Bhole Baba compared himself to God. “I go to temples, gurudwara, 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 the videos of his sermons and claims is an incarnation of God.
The preacher is said to be over 60 years old and does not have any children by the people in his hometown of Bahadurnagar.
They stated that he had adopted a girl who passed away some 16 or 17 years ago. They said that Baba had kept her body at home for two days in the hopes that she would revive. The neighbours said that the girl was cremated when the cops had to step in.
He received a lot of respect from the villagers for never soliciting money or “chadhava (offerings)” from anybody, according to Economic Times.
The villagers explained to the PTI that Baba constructed the “Bhavya Dham” with donations that he voluntarily collected from his followers.
Black commandos, female army in protection
The godman has a strong mistrust of others and believes there is a plot to kill him, according to NDTV.
Because of this anxiety, Bhole Baba hasn’t been to his house in the UP district of Etah, Bahadur Nagari village, in almost eight years.
In addition, he has a complex security setup that includes an army of women and “black commandos.”
There is a room in the ashram that belongs to the Baba, and only seven individuals are permitted to enter.
Women and sevadars, who have lived with him from the start, are among the seven, the report said.
After 8 pm, the godman never meets anyone by security policy.
Each member of the security team on his cover has a code word, and they are all distinguished from one another by wearing specific clothes.
The Narayani Sena, the Garud Yodha, and the Hari Vahak are the three groups that guard him around the clock. The Garud Yodha, also referred to as the “black commandos” by the locals, wears black clothing, while the Hari Vahak members wear brown clothing with unique caps. Personnel in the Narayani Sena wear pink clothing.
The “black commandoes” are always deployed in groups of 20 and follow the Baba’s convoy. While the Hari Vahak members are divided into groups of 25, each Narayani Sena group has 50 members.
Controversies and legal troubles
Renowned for his frequent satsangs, Suraj Pal has been facing legal issues for years, including accusations of sexual assault.
His popularity has remained consistent despite the numerous cases, unaffected by the cases in the cities of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Along with his wife Premvati and four other people, the former UP constable Suraj Pal was charged with using his purported “magical powers” to “resurrect” a teenage girl who had passed away in Agra in 2000, according to the Indian Express. Pal was residing in Kedar Nagar, in the Shahganj neighbourhood of Agra, at the time.
After that, a case was filed at the local police station against six people, including Pal, his wife, and four other people — two of whom were women — under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act and IPC Section 109, which punishes abetments when they commit crimes for which there is no express provision for punishment.
According to the Indian Express which quoted Tejveer Singh, the station house officer of Shahgan, the case began in March 2000 when a 16-year-old local girl passed away from natural causes.
“Suraj Pal, along with over 200 people, reached the cremation ground where the body was taken by her family for the last rites. Suraj Pal and others stopped the family from performing the last rites and tried to convince them that he could resurrect her,” said Tejveer Singh.
The case was filed on March 18, 2000. Singh asserted that the accused took the body against his will and moved it to a location on the cremation site. A few individuals who were with the girl’s family members voiced their disapproval, and one of them called the police.
“When we reached the spot, Suraj Pal and his supporters argued with us. Suraj Pal claimed he could resurrect the girl. His supporters then started pelting stones at the police team. Additional police personnel were called in and the situation was brought under control. We arrested Suraj Pal and the others involved,” claimed now-retired officer Singh.
According to Agra’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Suraj Kumar Rai, the police have also filed a chargesheet against the accused. Later, when fresh information surfaced, more research was done. A closure report was filed in the case on December 2, 2020, based on the evidence gathered during the further investigation, Rai added.
The Hathras stampede
According to a preliminary inquiry report, a stampede that killed 121 people in Hathras on Tuesday was a result of chaos and a “slippery slope,” which was started when the godman’s bodyguard shoved his supporters.
Considered a blessing, the crowd flocked to gather the dust left behind by Pal’s car as it drove away.
The volunteers and other security personnel from Pal’s organisation started pushing people back in an attempt to manage the crowd. Several followers fell around an embankment and were trampled by the crowd. Some attendees started to run amid the chaos, which led to a stampede.
The UP police have lodged an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation, accusing them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions with 2.5 lakh people gathering for the event in which only 80,000 were permitted.
“Mukhya sevadar” Devprakash Madhukar and other organisers have been named in the FIR filed at the Sikandar Rau police station late Tuesday, as per PTI.
Notably, the godman is not named in the list of the accused in the FIR filed in the incident, though his name is in the complaint. Police personnel, pooled from several police stations, have been deployed outside the ashram at Bichhawan and no one, including the media, is allowed inside, according to the news agency.
However, his two upcoming congregations in Agra have now been cancelled by the authorities.
Suraj Pal, who has been absconding since the Hathras stampede incident, issued a statement on Wednesday evening, declaring that he will take legal action against “anti-social elements” that allegedly engineered the horrific chaos.
He also expressed “deepest condolences to the families of the deceased.”
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “I spoke to some of the witnesses… they said that during the ‘satsang’, when women wanted to touch the godman’s feet, a sea of people pushed forward and his security pushed back. Then they tried to cover up the issue… And, when people were being taken to hospitals, the security team ran away.”
Notably, according to India Today, back in May 2022, a year after all COVID-19 pandemic rules were cleared, Pal had sought permission for a Hathras-type satsang in Farrukhabad, which was to be attended by a handful of people but about 50,000 people turned up.
With inputs from agencies
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