In his first reaction on Hathras tragedy, the self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as “Bhole Baba” aka Suraj Pal on Wednesday said the chaos erupted a long time after he had already left the venue.
Over 120 people were killed following a stampede during a religious congregation or ‘satsang’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on July 2.
In a statement, Pal expressed his condolences over the incident. He claimed the chaos erupted a long time after he had already left the venue.
He also blamed anti-social elements for causing the stampede, which resulted in the loss of lives.
"I/we express our deep condolence to the families of the deceased and pray to prabhu/parmatma (God) for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM)-led preliminary probe has stated that the stampede was caused after devotees were pushed by the godman's security and a "slippery slope".
The report also revealed that the SDM, who gave permission for the 'satsang' (religious congregation), was also present at the venue when the incident occurred.
"A crowd of more than 2 lakh people was present in the satsang pandal. Shri Narayan Sakar Hari (Bhole Baba) reached the satsang pandal at about 12.30 pm and the program went on for 1 hour," the preliminary report said.
"After this, at about 1.40 pm, Shri Narayan Sakaar Hari (Bhole Baba) came out of the pandal to go towards Etah on National Highway-91," the report said.
It added when the godman was leaving the venue, his followers started running towards him for a 'darshan' and collect soil from around his feet.
"Satsangi women/men/children etc. started applying the dust of Baba's feet on their foreheads (while trying) to get his darshan, touch his feet and take his blessings," reads the report.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a judicial probe into the Hathras tragedy.
He also said the 'sevadars' (volunteers) should have taken the victims to the hospital.
“People were dying and the 'sevadars' fled,” he said.
"A judicial probe by a retired high court judge will be conducted into the incident," he said.
