Lucknow, July 4: Self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari (Bhole Baba), whose religious discourse in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras resulted in a massive stampede leaving 121 dead, has blamed “anti-social elements” for the deadly incident.
Expressing his condolences over the incident, the godman claimed that the chaos erupted long after he left the venue.
He further stated that he had authorized Supreme Court lawyer AP Singh to take "further legal action regarding the stampede caused by some anti-social elements after the Samagam."
A preliminary investigation led by a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) indicated that the stampede was triggered when the godman's security pushed devotees on a "slippery slope".
"A crowd of more than 2 lakh people was present in the satsang pandal. Shri Narayan Sakar Hari (Bhole Baba) arrived at the satsang pandal at around 12:30 p.m., and the program continued for an hour," the preliminary report stated.
"Afterward, at about 1:40 p.m., Shri Narayan Sakar Hari (Bhole Baba) left the pandal to head towards Etah on National Highway-91," the report continued, adding that as the godman was departing, his followers began running towards him for a 'darshan' and to collect dust from around his feet.
"Satsangi women, men, and children started applying the dust from Baba's feet to their foreheads while trying to get his darshan, touch his feet, and receive his blessings," the report read.
