UP police arrest six sevadars, Baba to be grilled if required

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested six individuals in connection with the tragic stampede in Hathras, which resulted in the deaths of 121 people.

The arrested individuals, part of the organising committee for a religious gathering, include Ram Kumar, Upendra, Megh Singh, Manju Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, and Manju Devi. They were all serving as ‘Sevadars’ for the self-styled godman ‘Bhole Baba,’ also known as Narayan Sakar Hari.

Shalabh Mathur, Aligarh IG Range, confirmed the arrests and detailed the role of the six individuals. “These people were responsible for collecting donations, gathering crowds, and making all necessary arrangements for the program. Bhole Baba has not been questioned yet, but if needed, he will be,” Mathur stated.

A reward of Rs 1 lakh has been announced for information leading to the arrest of Dev Prakash Madhukar, a key accused who remains at large.

Mathur mentioned that the police are investigating whether the stampede was part of a larger conspiracy. He noted that the sevadars abandoned the crowd when it surged forward to receive blessings from Bhole Baba, which led to the fatal incident. They also fled the scene and did not cooperate with the police, preventing people from making videos and managing crowd control.

The stampede, which occurred when the crowd moved forward to take Baba’s Charan raj, has resulted in 121 confirmed deaths, all of whom have been identified.

In response to the tragedy, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered a judicial probe on Wednesday. While the police have filed an FIR against the organizers, Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari, who held the Satsang on July 2, has not been named in the case.

Sources revealed that Dev Prakash Madhukar had informed Bhole Baba about the stampede. Call records show that a call was made to Baba’s phone from Madhukar’s number at 2:48 PM on Tuesday afternoon, with the conversation lasting 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Subsequent phone activity places Baba at his Mainpuri Ashram from 3 PM to 4:35 PM, during which he communicates with other organising committee members. Despite no direct evidence of Baba’s involvement in the stampede, the police have conducted raids at eight locations in search of him. A special team of 40 policemen and an SIT have been deployed to locate the accused. Additionally, a heavy police presence has been established around Baba’s Ashram, suspecting he might be hiding there.

Bhole Baba is reportedly maintaining three-tier security, with various groups of sevadars and personal security personnel assigned code names. His security detail includes ‘Narayani Sena’ in pink dresses, ‘Garun Yodha’ in black commandos, and ‘Hari Vahak’ in brown dresses with caps.