In a tragic incident, as many as 116 people were killed and dozens others were injured after a stampede broke out during a ‘satsang’ of Bhole Baba in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident took place after the ‘satsang’ was over and people were leaving. They were stopped by the security men to allow the convoy of the religious preacher to leave first.
Seeing the Bhole Baba’s convoy leaving, people rushed towards him to have his ‘darshan,’ which led to the stampede. After the incident, Bhole Baba reportedly went into hiding.
Who is Bhole Baba?
Religious preacher Bhole Baba, who came to Hathras for the programme, is a resident of Bahadur Nagar of Patiali in Kasganj district.
His original name is SP Singh. He worked in the Police Department as a Sub Inspector but resigned 17 years ago to start giving religious sermons.
In fact, some reports suggest that the Baba had started giving religious sermons while he was in police and left his job after his followers started increasing.
Bhole Baba and his followers generally stay away from the media. He has an ‘ashram’ in Patiali. Over the last few years, especially after the corona lockdown, his followers rapidly grew in number.
Most of his followers are people from poor and marginalised communities. The Baba has followers from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as well. His religious events are mostly organised by his followers, who deliberately avoid media coverage for their events.