New Delhi: In a tragic stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh, 116 devotees suffocated to death as bodies piled upon each other. The incident occurred on July 2 while devotees were heading home after a ‘satsang’ in Phulari village, conducted by a preacher known as ‘Bhole Baba’.
Bhole Baba, a self-styled preacher and former UP police constable named Mr. Singh, is 58 years old and hails from a Dalit family in Bahadur Nagar village of Kasganj district, about 65 km from Hathras where the stampede took place. Although married, he has no children. After leaving government service, he adopted the name Bhole Baba, and his wife is known as Matashree. According to a police officer who visited Singh’s village, Singh served as a police officer for over a decade and supposedly left his job in Agra in the 1990s.
While Singh’s elder brother passed away a few years ago, his younger brother, Rakesh, a farmer, still lives in the village with his family.
Officials have pointed to overcrowding and extreme humidity as factors leading to the stampede.
Bhole Baba’s ashram, located on his 30-bigha land in the village, attracts people from various districts and states seeking his blessings. Five years ago, Bhole Baba left his home village, suspecting a conspiracy against him. Last year, he returned to the village and entrusted his property to a Trust, with a manager overseeing the ashram’s affairs.
