Hathras stampede: Bhole Baba an intelligence man to preacher with a cult following
Narayan Saakar Hari aka Bhole Baba, the preacher at whose satsang over 100 people died in Hathras district on Tuesday, is a former UP police staffer, Suraj Pal 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.
Always clean shaven and known for his all-white attire, he sits on a throne-like high chair at his satsangs, sometimes with his wife on a similar chair.
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After quitting his job and taking the spiritual path, he began living in a hut in his village in Kasganj district. Travelling to villages, mostly in the Braj region of Agra and Aligarh division, he started his career as a preacher and began organising "satsangs".
As his sermons started becoming popular, his followers grew in numbers to lakhs in Etah-Kasganj and the nearby Braj region, other parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Bhole Baba was at the centre of a controversy in Aligarh-Etah during the Covid pandemic years when a couple of times, he allegedly organised satsangs when there were restrictions on gatherings.
Bhole Baba's men are mostly clad in light pink shirts, trousers and white caps. Carrying batons, they manage traffic and internal arrangements at his events.
Despite his popularity, the media is kept away from his "satsangs" and no personal details about Bhole Baba are publicised, nor are more specific details known.
His preaching sessions usually last three to four hours and are attended by large crowds with women in a majority. He holds a "satsang" every Tuesday.
Often, there is a rush among the followers to collect "raj" (dust) from where he or his car passes. Eye-witnesses on Tuesday said it was a similar rush among followers to collect the dust that triggered the stampede.
He has told his followers that he had no "guru" but had divine enlightenment.
Some lawmakers are known to have attended his "satsangs" from time to time.
