New Delhi:

A son’s desperate search for his mother – one of many heartbreaking stories from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras after 123 people were killed in a stampede at a poorly-planned public meeting by ‘godman’ Bhole Baba, who preached divinity from a swank ‘ashram’ built on 13 acres of land worth Rs 4 crore.

Meenesh Kumar’s plight mirrors those of hundreds – friends and families of those who died, crushed under the feet of panicked fellow worshippers – who, hours after the tragedy, run from one hospital to another, and back again, praying, ironically, their father, mother, son, or daughter is alive.

READ | Suffocation, Chest Injuries: Agra Doctor On UP Stampede Deaths

For many those prayers will fall on deaf ears. For the rest, and a tearful Mr Kumar is hoping to be among them, relief awaits. And if he is so lucky, he told NDTV, “I will never let her to any ‘satsang’.”

Meenesh Kumar’s Story

“My mother said this ‘baba’ says good things in his ‘satsang’. I went once or twice… but she used to go to all… from Madhya Pradesh to Rajasthan, and in UP also. I told her, ‘you are too old… don’t go.’ But she did not agree. Now, if I find my mother, I will never let her go…” he told NDTV.

“I don’t know much about this baba…” he said and called on the state government – led by the Bharatiya Janata Party – to identify those whose negligence led to this disaster.

READ | “Organisers Tried To Cover Up Incident”: Yogi Adityanath

“The administration should know whose mistake this was… and they should correct it,” he said.

Meenesh Kumar lives in a village in UP’s Mainpuri district.

His mother, Ramkali Devi, 54, was among the 2.5 lakh people who trooped dutifully into a small open field in Hathras to listen to Bhole Baba, who has blamed “anti-social elements” – and not negligent organisers and aggressive private security, which includes an ‘army of women’, for this tragedy.

Ramkali Devi left her home on Monday. The ‘prayer meet’ was on Tuesday.

She has not been seen or heard since. And then, amid the gloom, there seemed to be a ray of light for Meenesh Kumar, whose search led him to the district hospital in Hathras.

READ | In Killer Stampede, One Entry, One Exit For Crowd Of 2.5 Lakh

Ramkali Devi, like you and I, and almost everyone else, has a mobile phone. Meenesh Kumar had been ringing it incessantly, hoping, almost against hope, she would eventually pick up.

And eventually a woman did… but it wasn’t his mother.

A stranger did. She said she would arrange for him to speak to his mother. Only she did not. When he called back, stranger things lay in store. “She told me my mother had gone to Agra,” he said.

“When I called again (a third time) she said, ‘Why are you troubling me?’ and switched off the phone,” a puzzled and even more worried Mr Kumar said.

“If Baba Has Powers…”

For many, even Bhole Baba’s most ardent followers, this tragedy has hit hard.

READ | Siblings, Aged 3 And 9, Among Children Killed In Stampede

Binod, a resident of Hathras, said he had shredded posters of the ‘godman’ that once adorned his home… a home that was filled with his wife, his mother, and his daughter. Today all three are dead.

“I was away, I came to know about the stampede in the evening. I rushed home to find they are all dead,” he said, breaking into tears.

READ | “If Baba Has Powers…”: Victims Mourn, Pick Up Pieces

From the many who were injured, and the families of the dead, there is one loud message to Bhole Baba… a demand, now, for proof of his divinity. “If the baba really has powers and cares about us, he should come here and heal us…” is the resounding cry to the ‘godman’ and his many crores.

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New Delhi:

Bhole Baba aka Narayan Saakar Hari is likely to be arrested soon after more than 100 people died in a stampede at his ‘satsang’ (religious congregation) in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on Tuesday. The self-styled godman, whose original name is Suraj Pal, is believed to be at his ‘ashram’ in Mainpuri, about 100 km from the Phulrai village, where he held the event attended by thousands of devotees.

Many senior police officials have reached the Hathras stampede site, while others are at his ashram, the Ram Kutir Charitable Trust. Besides police personnel, an NDTV team at the ashram also saw his devotees gathering in large numbers.

In Hathras, a forensic unit and a dog squad are at the stampede site. Teams of the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are also present.

At least 121 people, including over 100 women and seven children, were killed in the Hathras stampede. The Uttar Pradesh government said most of the people who died in the stampede have been identified.

A compensation of Rs 2 lakh each has been announced for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.

How Hathras Stampede Happened

Officials said the place where the Hathras stampede happened was too small to accommodate the crowd that had gathered there on Tuesday afternoon. A woman who attended the ‘satsang’ said the stampede broke out as the crowd began to leave.

After the ‘satsang’, devotees rushed to touch the feet of the self-styled guru, causing a big crowd build-up in a small area, officials said.

Devotees had come to the ‘satsang’ from various districts of Uttar Pradesh as well as neighboring states.

A high-level committee has been formed to investigate the incident.

The panel will be headed by the Additional Director General of Police, Agra, and the Aligarh Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said.

Case Against Hathras Satsang Organisers

A case has been filed against the ‘satsang organisers’ in Hathras, officials said.

According to the FIR, permission was granted for 80,000 people but more than 2.5 lakh devotees attended the event.

“Due to the uncontrollable crowd leaving the venue, devotees sitting on the ground were crushed. On the other side of the road, the crowd running in the water and mud-filled fields was forcibly stopped by the organizing committee with sticks, due to which the pressure of the crowd kept increasing and women, children, and men kept getting crushed,” the FIR said.

“The police and administrative officials present on the spot made every possible effort and sent the injured people to the hospital with the available resources. But no cooperation was given by the organizers,” the FIR added.

They have been charged under sections 105, 110, 126 (2), 223, and 238 of the new criminal code Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Godman Behind Hathras ‘Satsang’

Self-styled guru Narayan Saakar Hari has often claimed that he has worked with the Intelligence Bureau. He also told his devotees that he was inclined towards spirituality even when he was working and had resigned in the 1990s to pursue the spiritual path.

Born in Bahadur Nagari village in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district to a farmer, Nanne Lal, and Katori Devi, he completed his initial studies in the village.

He was reportedly a head constable with the Local Intelligence Unit of the UP police. He left his police job in 1999 and then changed his name to Narayan Saakar Hari.

He claims he began working for the Intelligence Bureau after college and turned towards spirituality during his time there.

Hathras Stampede Helpline Numbers

The Uttar Pradesh government has launched two helpline numbers — 05722227041 and 05722227042 — after the Hathras stampede incident.