"We are probing about 'Bhole Baba's' criminal history": Aligarh IG on Hathras stampede incident
Jul 04, 2024
Hathras (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 4 : Reacting to the stampede incident at a religious event in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, Aligarh Inspector General of Police, Shalabh Mathur said on Thursday that the police are probing about 'Bhole Baba's' criminal history.
He also pointed out that the permission for the event was not taken in his name.
"We are inquiring about 'Bhole Baba's' criminal history. Permission for the event was not taken in his name," he said.
Mathur also mentioned that six people have been arrested in the incident and Rs 1 lakh reward has been announced on the arrest of the main accused, Prakash Madhukar.
"These people have been given different types of uniforms for organizing the program. For crowd control and security, women and men are also given black commando dresses and pink dresses for uniformity, so that they can control the crowd according to their wish," he said.
"During the investigation, it has also come to light that these people used to stop the police administration from taking photos and videos of the event and used to misbehave with them. The police are also investigating whether any criminal conspiracy has been hatched by any of these sevadars," the Aligarh IG added.
Earlier today, Uttar Pradesh Police conducted a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri for 'Bhole Baba', a self-styled godman who conducted a 'Satsang' in Hathras where the stampede took place.
An FIR has been registered on the incident naming organizers of the prayer meeting but 'Bhole Baba' has not been named yet.
On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the spot and ordered a judicial probe into the incident.
A three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava has been constituted to ensure comprehensiveness of the subject matter and transparency in the inquiry, according to an official statement.
The Judicial Commission will investigate the various aspects of the Hathras stampede in the next two months and after the investigation, a report will be submitted to the State Government.
The preacher 'Bhole Baba' identified as Suraj Pal is also known by the names of Narayan Sakar Hari and Jagat Guru Vishwahari.
