Day after 121 people lost their lives in a horrific stampede at a religious event in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, the lawyer of the self-styled ‘godman’ who conducted the ‘satsang’ has blamed ‘anti-social’ elements for the incident.
“The incident that took place yesterday is unfortunate. Some anti-social elements orchestrated the stampede as part of a conspiracy after Narayan Sakar Hari left the ‘satsang’. The incident is being investigated by the SIT. We thank the Uttar Pradesh Police and government,” lawyer AP Singh told PTI.
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The lawyer said the godman has “full faith” in the judicial probe carried out under the supervision of a retired Allahabad high court judge.
“All the sevadars are working to ensure that none of the bodies are unclaimed and are cremated respectfully, and there are no victims without treatment,” Singh said. The preacher is not mentioned as accused in the FIR registered in connection with the stampede.
The godman’s lawyer demanded a fair and transparent investigation into the incident.
“People are saying the devotees ran after Narayan Sakar Hari. There is no tradition of touching his feet. He does not accept donations. He does not have a mobile phone and is not present on social media platforms,” Singh was quoted by PTI as saying.
“Narayan Sakar Hari has led a pure life and all allegations are false,” he added.
Police force has been deployed since the morning to prevent stone pelting at the Ram Kutir Charitable Trust, which is the ashram of the ‘Bhole Baba’ in Mainpuri, a top police official told ANI.
The prime facie report submitted by the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of the Sikandra Rao division of the district suggested that the stampede occurred as devotees rushed to seek blessing from ‘Bhole Baba’, the preacher at the religious congregation Satsang, as he was about to leave the venue after the prayer.
