Hathras Stampede: Who is Bhole Baba, the UP Godman whose Satsang led to the stampede that killed 121?

Suraj Pal Singh, also known as Bhole Baba, was born in Bahadur Nagari village in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district to a farmer. He served as a head constable in the UP police’s Intelligence Unit for more than 18 years. Despite official records indicating his service in the UP Police, his followers claim that he has also worked for the Intelligence Bureau. In 1999, he elected to retire from the service and changed his name to Narayan Saakar Hari.

He began conducting satsangs, and Narayan Hari has gained a significant following in neighboring states, including Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In contrast to many other self-proclaimed spiritual leaders, Narayan Hari is often seen dressed in a white suit and tie or a simple kurta pyjama, accompanied by his wife Prem Bati. He claims that he does not retain any money given to him by his followers during the satsangs, instead, he distributes it among his followers. In 2022, despite a surge in Covid’s Delta variant cases, Narayan Hari held a satsang in UP’s Farrukhabad.

Although the district administration had only permitted 50 people to attend, over 50,000 individuals congregated at the event site. Recognizing the large crowds that attend his satsangs, Narayan Hari has established a security team called “Narayani Sena”, made up of both male and female guards who escort him from his ashram to the satsang locations.