Hathras incident: Godman appears before panel in Lko, records statement

Godman Narayan Sakar Hari ‘Bhole Baba’ arrived in a BJP MLA’s SUV to record his statement before the judicial commission probing the July 2 Hathras stampede in which 121 followers of the baba had died.

The SUV belonged to BJP MLA from Puranpur assembly constituency Babu Ram Paswan.

For more than two hours, the entire Janpath Market remained closed as shopkeepers were not allowed to open their establishments.

Narayan Sakar was accompanied by his lawyer AP Singh.

The three-member commission is running its office from the Janpath secretariat.

A large posse of CRPF personnel and local police was deployed in Janpath Market and all its entry points were blocked to restrict movement.

Followers of Baba, who had arrived in large numbers, kept waiting on the Darulshafa Road just opposite the Janpath Market. Cops deported them to the Eco Garden on Jail road.

As Baba got down from the SUV sporting BJP’s flag and a pass issued by the Vidhan Sabha, media persons started searching for the vehicle owner’s name.

Without much effort, the name of the vehicle’s owner was revealed with the help of ‘vehicle registration app’. It was registered at the MLA’s Darulshafa address.

As Baba came out of the multi-storey building, he boarded the BJP MLA’s SUV and left the venue.

But before leaving, he told media persons waiting outside, “I am innocent.”

Advocate AP Singh, who is representing Baba in court, said, “The commission has made it clear that Narayan Sakar Hari will not have to appear before the commission again.”

Interacting with media persons, Singh asserted that a conspiracy was hatched to trigger the stampede.

“Narayan Sakar Hari has apprised the commission about the conspiracy behind the stampede. Those behind the conspiracy have already been identified. We have also apprised the court about them,” added Singh.

Narayan Sakar Hari originally hails from Bahadur Nagri village in Etah district.

Before embarking on a spiritual journey, Surajpal became Narayan Saakar Hari and established his ashram in Patiyali village.

Bhole Baba is a former UP police staffer who worked with the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) for 18 years and took voluntary retirement in 1990, when he was posted in Etah, in order to pursue spirituality.

Known for a certain flamboyance, he has a vast following among the lower middle class and the poor in the Etah-Kasganj and the Braj region and some other pockets.

The Hathras police have already given a clean chit to Narayan Sakar Hari as the charge sheet submitted in court does not have Baba’s name.

The incident

The stampede occurred when a crowd rushed to touch Baba’s feet as he was leaving the venue after satsang near village Phulari in the Sikandar Rau area in Hathras district. People fell over each other to reach him, resulting in stampede.

Around 2.5 lakh people had gathered for the event.

Police investigating the case have blamed organisers of the event for mismanagement that led to the stampede.

Against the permitted gathering of 80,000, the crowd exceeded to over 2.50 lakh.

The police have arrested 11 accused involved in organising the event.

Singh has claimed that ‘some poisonous substance’ was sprayed by unidentified men that triggered the stampede.

The FIR was lodged on July 2 under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.