'All those who born, have to die': Bhole Baba pins blame on 'destiny' for deaths in Hathras stampede

Days after the a deadly stampede claimed the lives of many individuals, Surajpal, aka Narayan Sakar Hari, aka ‘Bhole Baba’, made a statement on Wednesday in response to the tragic incident that took place at a Satsang he led in Hathras. 

In an interview with IANS, Bhole Baba said, "Who can avert destiny? All those who are born have to die."

The stampede at the Satsang site on July 2 claimed the lives of 121 devotees. The event attracted over 2.5 lakh followers to Phulrai village in Hathras district for the religious gathering.

Following the incident, an FIR was filed by the Uttar Pradesh police against the event organisers for allegedly concealing evidence and violating regulations by allowing a crowd of 2.5 lakh people when only 80,000 were permitted.

Although the self-proclaimed godman was not named as an accused in the FIR lodged at the Sikandrarau police station, there is ongoing scrutiny of the tragic stampede's circumstances.

On Wednesday, the preacher Bhole Baba arrived at his ashram in Bahadur Nagar village in Kasganj. His lawyer, A P Singh, informed PTI that Bhole Baba had relocated from another ashram and had not been staying at any other location, such as a hotel or overseas, during this time.

The Uttar Pradesh govt has now also constituted as Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the matter. In a report submitted earlier, the SIT hadn't ruled out the 'big conspiracy' angle from the investigation.  

Meanwhile, Hathras mishap main accused Dev Prakash Madhukar, who is the primary aide of self-style godman Narayan Sakar Hari alias Bhole Baba, was arrested from Delhi earlier.

Hathras SP Nipun Agarwal said Madhukar was arrested from Delhi and will be brought to Hathras to be presented in the court.