Preacher Bhole Baba’s lawyer blames “anti-social elements” for causing the trampling accident.
12:51•Updated 13:11
Indian authorities have begun investigating the Hindu preacher known as Bhole Baba by Suraj Pal Singh a huge fortune, according to the Indian media.
A preacher’s prayer service in Hathras district in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh ended on Tuesday in a stampede that killed 121 people and injured dozens. Most of the victims were women and children.
It is one of India’s worst stampedes in years.
The Indian authorities have now seized documents, according to which Bhole Baba has assets worth more than one billion rupees, or more than 11 million euros, they say The Times of India and Hindustan Times.
Bhole Baba worked as a police officer before becoming a preacher. He has claimed that he never accepts donations.
According to the documents, Bhole Baba manages 24 luxurious ashrams, or monastery-like religious spaces, where you can practice meditation, for example. In public places, he moves in a convoy of 20 vehicles, guarded by 15 commandos on motorcycles.
The origin of the preacher’s wealth is unclear, as most of his followers are poor people.
According to The Times of India, Bhole Baba’s followers also include high-ranking officials and other wealthy people who have given him secret donations.
Preacher’s assistants in police custody
There were an estimated 250,000 participants in the prayer meeting that ended in disaster. According to the permit granted by the authorities, a maximum of 80,000 people could have participated in the event.
The police have arrested seven assistants of the preacher who participated in organizing the prayer event. The main organizer surrendered to the police in Delhi on Friday.
The trampling happened at the end of the event. According to eyewitnesses, people rushed after the preacher when he was leaving the area.
According to the authorities, the mob had sought Bhole Baba to seek his blessings. However, the security guards prevented this, when people started pushing each other, several fell and the situation drifted into chaos.
Bhole Baba’s lawyer denied the British Broadcasting Corporation the BBC in the interview that the security guards would have caused the panic. The lawyer blamed “anti-social elements” in the crowd for the trampling.
The lawyer denied to reporters that the organizers of the prayer meeting were guilty of wrongdoing, reports news agency Reuters.
The preacher went into hiding
After the trampling accident, Bhole Baba has not been seen in public. Today, Saturday, the preacher commented on the trampling for the first time to the Indian media.
Bhole Baba told news agency ANI that he was saddened by the incident and added that his aides would come to help the families of the trampling victims.
Bhole Baba said he believed that those who caused the chaos would be punished. It was not clear from the video where it was filmed.
According to Indian media, Bhole Baba would have retreated to one of his ashrams. About twenty police officers guard the ashram surrounded by a fence, says AFP.
Sources: AFP, Reuters