Followers of Narayan Sakkar Vishwa Hari or ‘Bhole Baba’ worship him. They believe that he is a doctor who treats. He is an exorcist who gets rid of evil spirits. Followers of ‘Bhole Baba’ believe that he is a god with magical powers who can fulfill their wishes. Local religious leader ‘Bhole Baba’ had addressed a ‘satsang’ in Hathras. Where there was a stampede on Tuesday. In which the death toll rose to 121 by Wednesday. In fact, he was also arrested in Agra in 2000 due to his alleged claim of magical powers.
According to a report in ‘Indian Express’, ‘Bhole Baba’ had then allegedly forcibly snatched the body of a 16-year-old girl from her family. He had claimed that he would bring her back to life. Later this case was closed. After quitting his job as constable Suraj Pal of the Uttar Pradesh police in Kasganj in the 1990s to become a self-proclaimed religious preacher, he has amassed a large following in over two decades, mostly from low-income Dalit families where men work as labourers, masons, agricultural labourers, sweepers, carpenters or carpet sellers. Many of them are witnesses to his growing popularity.
‘Bhole Baba’ is from a Dalit family
Many said that what attracted them to ‘Bhole Baba’ was that he too was from a Dalit family. He did not even ask for any prasad. Urmila Devi, who came to the satsang with her sister Taramati, said that Baba does not take or ask for anything. In his satsang, he used to tell us not to lie and not to eat meat, fish, eggs and alcohol. Widow Taramati is also among the injured. Both sisters are from Mathura.
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