'Death is inevitable, no one can escape destiny,' says nonchalant Bhole Baba of deadly Hathras stampede

The self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, in his first reaction after the Hathras stampede killed 121 people on July 2, said although the incident is deeply disturbing, death is an inevitable truth.

"We are very disturbed and distressed after the July 2 incident. But, who can avoid the inevitable? Whoever has come to this Earth will have to depart one day, although the timing may differ," said Hari, also known as Bhole Baba, while speaking to IANS.

He alleged that a conspiracy was hatched at his 'satsang' which led to the stampede at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh.

Baba Bhole claimed that some poisonous substance was sprayed amid the gathering which led to the stampede which was an attempt to defame the spiritual practices conducted by his organization.

"Our counsel AP Singh and eyewitnesses told us about a poisonous spray at the gathering. This proves that a conspiracy was hatched to tarnish our name and reputation," he told IANS.

He, however, expressed faith in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the UP government to probe the incident, saying that truth will prevail and the 'conspirators' will be brought to book.

The SIT probing the Hathras stampede submitted its report on July 9, in which it held overcrowding as the main reason behind the stampede but did not rule out 'conspiracy' in the incident.

Although it held the event organizers, local police, and the state administration guilty, Bhole Baba was not booked under any charges.

The UP government had constituted both SIT and a judicial commission to investigate the incident.

Following the SIT report, the state government suspended the sub-divisional magistrate, circle officer, tehsildar, station house officer, and two local police outpost in-charge officers.

The judicial commission led by retired Allahabad High Court judge Brijesh Kumar Shrivastava and retired IPS officer Hemant Rao is also investigating the incident.

Over 200,000 people turned up for the spiritual gathering at Phoolrai village for the 'satsang' despite the organizers only having permission for a gathering of 80,000 people.

So far, nine people, including two women and three senior citizens have been arrested by the UP police, including several sevadars (volunteers) of the satsang.

Dev Prakash Madhukar, the main organizer of the Hathras satsang is the key accused. He worked as a fundraiser for Narayan Sakar Hari events and collected donations.

Baba Bhole, originally known as Suraj Pal, was born in Bahadur Nagari village in Uttar Pradesh's Etah district to a farmer, Nanne Lal, and Katori Devi.

He reportedly worked as a head constable with the local Intelligence Unit of the UP police before becoming a godman.