Self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as Bhole Baba, has stated that he is in “deep depression” because of the Hathras Stampede, which claimed 121 lives.
Sharing his thoughts, he stated that nobody can avoid what is destined, and everyone has to die sooner or later. “Everyone has to die one day; only time is certain,” he stated.
Expressing “sorrow” over the Hathras incident, he said, “We are in deep depression after the incident on July 2. We are suffering from depression, but who can avoid destiny? Whoever comes must leave one day, whether sooner or later.”
Acknowledging the eyewitness accounts of a poisonous spray, he suggested that there was a “conspiracy” behind the stampede.
He emphasised that some individuals are attempting to defame the spiritual practices conducted by his organisation.
He stated that he has full faith in the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the judicial commission, and the followers of the Human Welfare Harmony Association to uncover the truth and expose the conspirators behind the tragic incident.
The godfather stated that “we stand with the families of all those who died in the incident.”.
The stampede at the ‘satsang’ of Bhole Baba claimed as many as 123 lives in the Sikandararu area of Hathras on July 2.
The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted both a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and a judicial commission to investigate the incident.
Notably, the FIR lodged at Sikandrarau police station did not list the godman as an accused.
However, the SIT’s report, submitted to the state government on July 9, held overcrowding as the main reason behind the stampede, and it did not rule out ‘conspiracy’ in the incident.
The SIT held the event organisers responsible, noting their failure to manage the crowd properly. This sentiment was echoed by official sources, who pointed out that both the organisers and the administration shared the blame.
Bhole Baba’s lawyer had previously claimed that the stampede was triggered by “some poisonous substance” allegedly sprayed by unidentified individuals.
Meanwhile, a judicial commission, led by retired Allahabad High Court judge Brijesh Kumar Shrivastava and retired IPS officer Hemant Rao, is also investigating the incident.
Earlier reports from government agencies, including the police, had already pointed fingers at the organisers, citing the significant discrepancy between the permitted crowd size of 80,000 and the actual turnout of over 250,000 people.
So far, the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested nine people, including two women and three senior citizens. Among these, several sevadars (volunteers) of the satsang are mentioned as accused, including Dev Prakash Madhukar, the main organiser of the Hathras satsang.
According to the police, Madhukar worked as a fundraiser for Narayan Sakar Hari events and collected donations.