Indian missionary denies responsibility for death, lawyer tells BBC

The preacher who crushed more than 120 people to death at a crowded rally in India on Tuesday has denied responsibility and pledged to cooperate with police investigations.

The lawyer for self-proclaimed guru Bhole Baba told the BBC the squeeze happened “due to some anti-social factors” and accused it of a “criminal conspiracy” against his client .

Bhole Baba’s real name is Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari and his lawyer AP Singh said he will fully cooperate with the investigation.

Almost all of the victims were women and children who were participating in satsang – a Hindu religious festival – in Hathras district.

This sparked outrage in India and questions about the lack of security measures.

Singh also denied reports that festival security personnel caused panic by pushing away people trying to get blessings from Borbaba.

“It is a completely false allegation. Security personnel always provide help to followers,” Singh told the BBC.

It was one of the worst crashes in India in years.

Shocking images of the aftermath of the disaster circulated online as pickup trucks, tuk-tuks and even motorcycles were used to transport the injured to hospitals.

The attack took place in Pulrai village where Bhole Baba was holding a religious gathering.

Initial police reports said officials had allowed 80,000 people to gather, but about 250,000 people attended the event.

Reports say the chaos began as the missionary drove away. Witnesses said hundreds of people rushed toward the preacher as he left the venue, and people lost their footing and began falling over each other.

Survivors said many people sitting or squatting on the ground were crushed to death as people chased his vehicle.

Local resident Yogesh Yadav, one of the first people to rush to the scene, told the BBC that hundreds of women chased Bhole Baba’s car as he left.

“Some people crossed the highway to get a better look at his car. During the melee, several women fell into the gutter next to the highway. People started falling on each other,” Mr Yadav said.

Police documents also say some people tried to cross the road to a muddy field but were forcibly stopped and crushed to death by organizers.

Bole Baba’s original name was Suraj Pal, but he reportedly renamed himself Narayan Sarkar Vishwa Hari.

A senior police officer in Uttar Pradesh told BBC Hindi that the preacher was a former police officer but was suspended after a criminal case was filed against him.

The senior police officer said he returned to the force after a court acquitted him, but resigned from his job in 2002.

The preacher gathered hundreds of thousands of followers in Hathras and neighboring areas.

It is understood that Bhole Baba has an ashram in Mainpuri, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the village of Pulrai.

His lawyer told the BBC that his client was now at his monastery. The preacher was not named in the initial police complaint.