Latest revision as of 06:46, 24 July 2024

[edit] A brief biography

[edit] The baba and his army

Deepak Lavania, July 5, 2024: The Times of India

Bhole Baba: a profile
From: Deepak Lavania, July 5, 2024: The Times of India

Hathras : It's difficult to explain Surajpal Singh. Neither the man nor his ideology. Movie star meets activist would be close. That penchant for spotless white shirts and pants, that urgent call for Dalit upliftment and acceptance. The ’70s sartorial mixing oddly with a don-like fancy to be surrounded by three tiers of bodyguards — clad in pink, brown and black. 
But by the time the boy born to Jatav parents in Bahadur Nagari village of Kasganj district sometime in the mid-1960s metamorphosed into Sakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, the legions of followers had no problem understanding what he stood for or preached, latching on to every word he uttered, every senten- ce he spoke to articulate his own unique interpretation of religion and holy scriptures.
 The man now at the centre of the stampede in Hathras that has so far taken 121 lives spent his boyhood working in the fields, learning rustic rhythms of the countryside from his father, a small farmer. His mother, a woman of deep faith, introduced him to the world of spirituality, planting in him the seeds of his future transformation. 
Bhole Baba understood instinctively the struggles and aspirations of his mostly SC/ ST admirers, using that advantage to position himself as their spiritual guide and saviour. His speeches revolved around social justice and empowerment. It resonated deeply with his congregation.

Baba created pvt army that secured him, enhanced clout

Popularas Bhole Baba in parts of UP, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the godman’s life took a significant turn when he joined UP Police as constable. For over 18 years, he served in various districts of UP, with a stint in the intelligence unit. That period offered him profound insights into societal workings and human psychology — knowledge that would later prove instrumental in his avatar as Bhole Baba.


Zaffar Ali, the husband of Bahadur Nagar village pradhan Najis Khanam, said, “Bhole Baba has no children, and his wife is known as Matashree. His younger brother Ram Prasad died some years ago. The other sibling, Rakesh, continues to till the fields.” Ali added that Bhole Baba built an ashram on a 30-bigha land in the Kasganj village, attracting people from various districts and states who sought his blessings. Five years ago, though, the preacher suddenly left the village. He suspected a conspiracy was brewing against him.


A Hathras-based businessman, who has for long been donating to Bhole Baba’s satsangs, said, “He isn’t very imposing or anything. He stands at about 5 feet 7 inches. Yes, he maintains high standards of hygiene and doesn’t allow people to touch him. Educated till Class 12, he speaks chaste English, is an avid reader, and has a fondness for cars and perfumes. Baba takes great care of his diet and exercises regularly. Through his connections, Baba helped me in my business of asafoetida.”


In 2000, when Bhole Baba took voluntary retirement as head constable with Uttar Pradesh Police, it immediately saw him encounter the other end of law. That March in Agra, he and a few others were charged with something startling: the claim to possess powers that could r esurrect a dead teenage girl. It caused a commotion at the cremation ground. Police lat- er closed the case due to lack of evidence.


Slowly, there was remodelling of his persona at multiple levels. He kept his hair long and swathed himself in long robes, looking more like the traditional spiritual leader that he aspired to be. He chose a fascinating fusion of the old and the modern, often juxtaposing a white suit and tie with pajama. Bhole Baba kept his wife by his side, a quiet yet potent presence that many said provided to his followers a sense of familial warmth and rootedness.


As his worshippers grew, so did his whims. Bhole Baba cultivated a private army of fiercely loyal followers ready to defend him at great cost to themselves. The Narayani S ena, the Garud Yodha, and the Hari Vahak guarded him round the clock. The Garud Yodha, also referred to as “black commandos” by the lo- cals, wore black, the Hari Vahak brown with unique caps, and those in the Narayani Sena were clad in pink.


This army not only provided Bhole Baba with security but also helped him establish and maintain a mighty influence over his “community”, particularly among the Dalits, a significant portion of his disciples.


Ram Sanai, a 65-year-old who was present at the ill-fated satsang on Tuesday, said that a large part of Bhole Baba’s appeal came from his admonitions against excessive alcohol consumption and advice for women facing domestic violence. His wider message was one of humanity — a poster announcing the satsang, for instance, talked about “unity in diversity”, eradication of discrimination and, of course, the need to believe in the power of Narayan Sarkar, another nomenclature that he bestowed upon himself.


Rakesh Babu from Aligarh, who was also in Hathras for Bhole Baba’s event, said, “He gives confidence to us. He talks of equality and empo- werment. He advocates education. He even got my daughter admitted to a private school. He condemns caste-based discrimination and teaches universal brotherhood. Baba helped us during the Covid-19 pandemic when we didn’t have food to eat.”


Something else had also happened during that time which Babu doesn’t reveal. In May 2021, during the deadly second wave, Bhole Baba organised a meeting in Farrukhabad. Defying the district administration’s permission for only 50 people, more than 50,000 a ttended, r esulting in an FIR against the organisers.


Bhole Baba’s past was not untouched by controversy. He has allegedly been involved in several crimes, from fraud to land grabbing and sexual assault. However, he has managed to evade charges, thanks to what many say is his “political influence”.


In Kanpur, Ghatampur ACP Ranjit Kumar said police are investigating allegations that his organisation, ‘Sakar Vishwa Hari Charitable Trust’, has encroached on seven bighas of land in Karsui village. “We are probing the matter to gather more details,” he said.


Bhole Baba’s political power, many say, was “seeded” in 2007 when Mayawatiled BSP assumed office in UP. He had close connections with several senior politicians across party lines and was often seen sharing the stage with them during public events. His followers formed a significant vote bank, the ashrams in various parts of UP a testament to his power. It was in one of these ashrams on a 60-bigha plot in Bichwa Mainpuri that the man solemnised the wedding of an IAS officer two years ago.


At his Kasganj ashram, there is a handpump he has installed which is believed to sprout ‘amrit’ and cleanse one’s soul. But it is Bhole Baba’s once-immaculate white clothes that now seem a little stained — with blood. His p osters and banners, once a beacon of hope and guidance, are now smeared with black ink.

[edit] The 2000 ‘resurrection’ case

Manish Sahu, July 3, 2024: The Indian Express

Before he came to be known as Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or Bhole Baba – a self-styled preacher –  the former UP constable Suraj Pal, along with his wife Premvati and four others, was booked for allegedly claiming to possess “magical powers” to “resurrect” a teenaged girl who died in Agra in 2000, police said on Wednesday. At the time, Suraj Pal was living in Kedar Nagar in the Shahganj area of Agra, officers said.

Tejveer Singh, who was the station house officer of Shahgan thenj, told The Indian Express on Wednesday that the case dates back to March 2000, when a 16-year-old local girl died of natural causes.

“Suraj Pal, along with over 200 people, reached the cremation ground where the body was taken by her family for the last rites. Suraj Pal and others stopped the family from performing the last rites and tried to convince them that he could resurrect her,” said Tejveer Singh.

According to police station records, the case was registered on March 18, 2000.  Singh claimed that the accused forcibly took the body and placed it at a spot on the cremation ground. A few people who were with the family members of the girl raised an objection and one of them informed the police.

“When we reached the spot, Suraj Pal and his supporters argued with us. Suraj Pal claimed he could resurrect the girl. His supporters then started pelting stones at the police team. Additional police personnel were called in and the situation was brought under control. We arrested Suraj Pal and the others involved,” claimed Singh, who was later promoted to Deputy Superintendent of Police and retired from the police force in 2019.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Agra, Suraj Kumar Rai, said the police also filed a chargesheet against the accused. Later, further investigation was conducted after new evidence emerged. “On the basis of evidence collected during the further investigation, a closure report was filed in the case,” added Rai.

According to police station records, the closure report was filed on December 2, 2000. Suraj Pal, who hails from a Dalit family in Kasganj, served in the police force for nearly a decade before leaving the job. It is yet to be ascertained whether he was dismissed or took voluntary retirement.

[edit] The 2024 stampede

Neetika Jha, Manish Sahu, July 4, 2024: The Indian Express

Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or ‘Bhole Baba’, the local preacher who addressed the ‘satsang’ in Hathras where the stampede occurred— the toll rose to 121— is revered by his followers who believe he’s a “healer” with “cures”, an “exorcist” who “gets rid of evil spirits”, and a “godman” with “magical powers” who can grant their wishes.

Over more than two decades now, after leaving the Uttar Pradesh Police in the 1990s where he was Constable Suraj Pal from Kasganj, to become a self-styled religious preacher, he has gathered a considerable following — mostly low-income Dalit families, where the men are employed as labourers, masons, agricultural labourers, safai karmacharis, carpenters or carpet-sellers, many of whom were witness to his rising popularity.

Many said what drew them to ‘Bhole Baba’, also from a Dalit family, was that he did not seek any offerings. “Baba does not take or ask for anything. In his satsang, he would tell us not to lie, and not to consume meat, fish, egg and alcohol,” said Urmila Devi, who had accompanied her sister, Taramati, to the satsang.

Taramati, a widow, is among those injured. The two sisters are residents of Mathura. This was the fourth time Taramati was attending a satsang addressed by ‘Bhole Baba’, and she had asked her sister to join this time.

Like the two sisters, most of the women devotees are in the 40-70 years age group. “As the satsang was getting over, Bhole Baba said, ‘aaj pralay aayegi, aur phir pralay aa gayee (today is doomsday, and he was right),” said Taramati from her hospital bed.

According to residents of Donkeli village in Hathras district, ‘Bhole Baba’ has 10 to 12 sevadars (main followers) in every village. “They come and inform people in the village about the satsang, and ferry them to the venue in cars and buses,” said a villager. Many of his followers wear a yellow locket with his photo around their necks.

The authorities have said that a scramble among devotees to collect the dust from the preacher’s feet was among the causes of the stampede. Vivek Thakur, an auto-rickshaw driver from the village, said his devotees believe that “if you apply the dust from his feet on your body or head, it will heal all ailments”.

In Sokhana village of Hathras, from where four persons died in the stampede, residents said ‘Bhole Baba’ would routinely perform exorcisms, mostly on young girls. “At the satsang yesterday, there were more than 100 people who were possessed, and he cured them all,” claimed a villager who did not want to be named.

“He would ask followers to perform good deeds so that they would be rewarded with a better life in their next birth. He told us that if we followed the path of good, we would be born into better circumstances in our next life,” said some women in Damadpura in Sikandrarao.

“When I got married in 2001, he was not as famous, but his popularity increased over time. If you attend his satsangs more than seven times, you can become a sevadar. The sevaders have a special dress. Women wear pink saris and men also wear a pink uniform,” said another devotee.

Meanwhile, a retired police officer, Tejveer Singh, who was then the Station House Officer of Shahganj, Agra, recalled the arrest of the preacher in March 2000. “Suraj Pal, along with 200-250 people, arrived at the cremation ground where the body of a 16-year-old girl had been brought by her family. Suraj Pal and the others stopped the family from performing the last rites, and tried to convince them that he could resurrect her,” he said.

According to police station records, the girl, Sneh Lata, was the daughter of a local resident. The case was lodged on March 18, 2000.

Singh said the accused forcibly took the body from the family. Meanwhile, the police were informed. “When we reached the spot, Suraj Pal and his supporters argued with us. He claimed that he could resurrect the girl. His supporters then started pelting stones at the police team. Additional police personnel were called in, and the situation was brought under control. We arrested Suraj Pal and the others involved,” said Singh, who retired as Deputy Superintendent of Police in 2019.

A case was lodged at the Shahganj police station against six persons, including Suraj Pal, his wife and four others (two of whom were women) under IPC Section 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence, and where no express provision is made for its punishment) and Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Agra, Suraj Kumar Rai, confirmed the arrests. The case was investigated and a chargesheet was filed, he said. Later, further investigation was conducted after new evidence emerged. “Based on the evidence collected during the further investigation, a closure report was filed in the case,” Rai said.

According to police records, the closure report was filed on December 2, 2000.

[edit] Baba’s reaction: ‘No one can fight fate’

July 17, 2024: The Times of India

Self-styled godman Bhole Baba whose satsang came on radar after 121 devotees died in a stampede situation in Hathras early this month made a controversial comment on Wednesday that everyone who has been born has to die some day as the inevitable can't be stopped. "Honi ko kaun taal sakta hai, jo aaya hai, use ek din Jana hi hai... (Who can challenge the inevitable? Everyone who came to this world has to leave one day -- some before, some later)" the religious preacher said as he reached his village along with wife and lawyer.

The lawyer of Bhole Baba had on July 6 claimed "some poisonous substance" sprayed by "some unidentified men" triggered the stampede. The SIT in its report recommended a detailed investigation as a conspiracy could not be ruled out.

[edit] His empire

Bhupendra Pandey, Dheeraj Mishra, Neetika Jha, July 6, 2024: The Indian Express

Bahadur Nagar is a village consumed by faith — the kind that is unquestioning, leaving no space for disbelief. It’s this devotion that got Pratap Singh, 40, to forgo the daily wages that he gets as a labourer in Firozabad district and travel over a 100 km for “duty” to Bahadur Nagar village in neighbouring Kasganj.

Standing outside the pearly white fortress that’s the ashram of Suraj Pal alias Bhole Baba alias Narayan Sakaar Hari — the ‘godman’ at the centre of the Hathras stampede, one of the biggest such in recent times that led to at least 121 deaths and left many injured — Pratap Singh says, “This is a sacred place, you cannot come near it with your dirty shoes. This is a divine gate. Nobody is allowed past this gate. Like you can only feel hunger, but cannot see it, you can only experience the power of Bhole Baba. You cannot see his magic, but you can feel it.”

Dressed in his light pink uniform, Pratap is a sewadar (volunteer) at the ashram in Bahadur Nagar, Suraj Pal’s ancestral village. It’s an eight-hour daily duty that he will do for the next 21 days until another set of sewadars replace him and the other volunteers.

That Suraj Pal has been on the run since the stampede doesn’t dent his devotion.

“Hundreds of satsangs have taken place over the years, but not even an ant has been trampled upon in all these years. This was just an accident, it should be seen as one,” says the man, turning around and chanting in a loop, “Satya roopi jwala Sakar Vishwa Hari…”.

Bahadur Nagar, around 47 km from Sikandra Rao in Hathras, the site of the stampede, is the ancestral village of Suraj Pal. Though he doesn’t live here anymore — the village hasn’t seen a satsang by him since November 2014 and the man himself last made a brief visit in March 2023 — the ashram, spread on nearly 2.5 bighas and standing behind tall walls and golden gates, is revered as a shrine. Every Tuesday, hundreds of devotees gather here and bow down at the locked gates.

But these days, in the aftermath of the tragedy that followed Suraj Pal’s satsang in Hathras, Bahadur Nagar, a village with nearly 1,000 people, has a new set of visitors: media personnel, police and a few curious minds. They come asking questions of its residents: Who is Suraj Pal and how did he become Bholey Baba?

From police to “prabhu ji”

With most of his associates and others close to the family on the run, there are few answers to how a constable turned to spirituality and eventually got called “Parmatma” and “Prabhu ji” by his followers. Suraj Pal, who served in the Local Intelligence Unit of the Uttar Pradesh Police in Agra, later joined the force and was posted in the office of the Superintendent of Police (Rural Area) in the district.

While addressing the media after the recent arrests in the stampede, Aligarh range IG Shalabh Mathur said, “Suraj Pal took voluntary retirement from the force in 2000. He was then head constable and was posted at the SP (RA) office.”

Senior police sources say their investigation so far suggests that he had started making claims of supernatural powers while in service. It was in 2000, after he left the force, that he claimed that he would be able to revive a 16-year-old girl who had died and forcibly took the body away from her family – an incident that landed him in jail in 2000. Police say that so far, it’s the only known FIR against Suraj Pal.

After he came out of jail, he moved from Agra to his ancestral village in Kasganj, where he took to preaching.

Born to farmer Nanhe Singh Jatav in Bahadur Nagar, Suraj Pal, who is believed to be in his 60s, is the eldest of three siblings. While one of his younger brothers, Bhagwan Das, died of an illness, the other, Rakesh Kumar, is a former pradhan of Bahadur Nagar and lives in the village with his family. Villagers say the two brothers had a fallout many years ago and Rakesh Kumar continued to live in the small family home that’s at the end of a narrow lane. Days after the stampede, the house is deserted, with a lock on the main gate.

Suraj Pal’s cult-like status is evident in large swathes of rural Agra, Farrukhabad, Etah, Hathras, Kasganj, Aligarh, Mainpuri, Etawah, Kanpur Nagar and Kanpur Dehat. A senior IPS officer in Uttar Pradesh, who, in the days since the tragedy, is collating details from across the state on Suraj Pal, says his followers are also present in the districts of Rajasthan and Haryana that border Uttar Pradesh.

The officer said Suraj Pal cultivated his followers carefully. As was evident in Hathras, women made up a bulk of his followers. They would come to his satsangs, their hearts overwhelmed with pain — an illness in the family, an unmarried daughter, a wayward son – and go back, believing they had found their salve in his words. Almost all of them, the officer says, are from the Dalit Jatav community to which Suraj Pal belongs and which has a significant presence across Uttar Pradesh. Most of them are emotionally vulnerable, looking for ready solutions to their many challenges, bypassing a system they feel marginalised in.

Unlike most godmen, the officer said, Suraj Pal preferred to stay low-key, with no personal website or social media accounts. None of his ashrams have CCTVs and his satsangs and his other activities have rarely been covered on traditional or social media. He is not known to have a spokesperson or public relation officer and has rarely been interviewed. Which is why, when his name first came up following the stampede, few had seen or heard of him — no invite, for instance, had gone out to any media professional or organisation about the Hathras event where Suraj Pal eventually addressed a gathering of close to 2.5 lakh devotees.

His highly guarded persona meant that his followers, too, were prohibited from sharing anything about him or his satsangs on social media. The only known photographs of Suraj Pal are those displayed on posters and trinkets at his religious gatherings or a few secretly captured videos from his satsangs.

Police officials say that in the absence of publicity, Suraj Pal used an ingenious network marketing model to get more devotees — each follower had to bring in a few others, a process and chain with unlimited reach.

An officer said those who spread the word on the Baba’s “magical prowess” made sure they did so in rural areas, mostly in the most impoverished parts, where they made it a point to underline Surajpal’s caste — that he was one of them, yet blessed with a divinity that could be theirs too. His gatherings usually coincide with the post-harvesting season.

During most of his sermons, Suraj Pal, usually dressed in white shirts and trousers, and his wife Premwati — a constant presence at these gatherings — sit on gilded chairs, while he talks of himself as God. “One who prays for Sakaar Hari becomes immortal. You are born into this life to pray to Sakaar Hari and not waste your life. I have made it easy for you so that you can pray to Sakaar Hari while being part of the society and doing your jobs,” he says in one of the few available recordings of his satsangs.

A senior police officer who, during his posting in a district in Agra zone, had once given permission for a Suraj Pal gathering, shares, “I came to know about this godman when an application seeking permission for his satsang landed on my desk. Since lower-rung police officials and the district administration had already cleared it, I did not raise any objection. I went to the venue and was surprised at what I saw — the gathering was huge.”

Details collected by the administration during its investigation into the Hathras stampede has found that Suraj Pal prefers to keep his distance from politicians, though many come to seek his blessings, especially during the elections, given his hold over the Jatav community. Police sources say that while Suraj Pal was seen as a people’s baba, his satsangs had a separate sitting arrangement for his VVIP guests, many of them senior officials.

Talking about the patronage Suraj Pal enjoyed, a senior officer said their investigation has so far revealed that the trusts run by him got donations from senior officials and businessmen.

The officer pointed to the funds required to maintain about half-a-dozen of the “luxurious” ashrams that he ran in Kasganj, Mainpuri, Kanpur and Etah in UP and Dausa in Rajasthan. Of late, the officer said, Suraj Pal, who has been staying at his Mainpuri ashram, had been spending more time in his Dausa facility.

The security cordon

As part of their investigation into the Hathras deaths, police are probing the role of Suraj Pal’s private security guards, who allegedly pushed back the crowd when they tried to collect the soil left behind by his moving car. This has been mentioned as the main cause of the stampede in a report that the Hathras Sub Divisional Magistrate has submitted to the government.

According to his followers, Suraj Pal relies heavily on his team of security guards. While the male guards are categorised into three groups — the Narayani Sena, Harivahak Sena and Garud Yodhha — each with distinct roles, the women guards are part of the Gopika Unit.

While those in the Narayani Sena wear light pink uniforms, the Harivahak wear brown and the Garuds, in commando-like bandanas, are usually in black. The women’s ‘Gopika Unit’, whose uniform is identical to that of the paramilitary forces, forms the first ring of security around Suraj Pal. Their primary job is to ensure that no one, not even the followers, use mobile phones to take his pictures.

Police sources say the guards handle the crowd at all religious gatherings and are usually deployed on both sides of the roads leading to the venue, among the crowd, and around the stage where Surajpal sits.

While briefing the media in Hathras on Wednesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said that the personal guards of the Baba did not allow policemen to go inside the pandal. Police said their preliminary inquiry has found that some serving policemen could have been part of Surajpal’s personal security force.

“These policemen take leave to accompany the Baba. Some retired policemen also give their services to the Baba by training the security guards. Our investigation will verify and collect all these details,” said an officer.

‘He is our God’

Back in Bahadur Nagar, the faithful continue to throng the gates of the ashram, with the tragedy in Hathras barely a blip on their minds. A plaque at the gate displays a list of prominent donors, among them police officers, doctors, businessmen and bankers. Pushing back devotees who cross a white line in front of the ashram gate, sewadar Rakesh Kumar, 45, says “Bhole Baba” had answers to all his problems and that he is now paying off his debt to his “God” by doing sewa at the ashram.

Rakesh says that it was his aunt who persuaded him to attend Suraj Pal’s satsang in UP’s Tundla district. “In 2006, my wife Usha Devi used to be possessed and I had lost all hope. I have four children and it was difficult to run the household. I attended a satsang and when I returned, my wife was already feeling better. I even started earning better from farming on my agricultural land. Baba is our God now. Because of him, my daughter got married into a good family and my elder son has a job at a khoya factory in Gujarat,” says Rakesh, a resident of Airi village in Jalaun district.

He says all his family members are devotees of Suraj Pal. “We will serve Baba for generations. After I am dead, my son will do sewa at the ashram.”

The ashram stands as a stark contrast to the rest of the village that’s dotted by unplastered homes and open drains. Most of the villagers work as small-time farm labourers, masons, painters and carpenters.

Around 50 metres from the ashram lives Anand Kumar, 26, his mother Draupa Devi, 80, and their extended family members.

Draupa says she has been a follower of the godman for nearly 30 years now. “His ashram was not huge then. He would come here every Tuesday for satsangs in a small hut. I attended those satsangs regularly. Baba would tell us not to lie, steal, use intoxicants and gamble. My husband was an alcoholic, but he stopped drinking because of Baba’s magical powers,” she says.

When Draupa’s son Anand is not working as a painter in Ghaziabad, he doubles as a sewadar at the ashram. His sister Arti, who is employed at the anganwadi kendra in the village, hopes “Bholey Baba’s” magical powers will help her patch up her estranged husband. Arti’s niece Laxmi Jatav, 12, too, has her reasons. “Last year, I had prayed to Bholey Baba that I should top the exams. And I did,” says Laxmi, who studies in Class 8 in the village school.

While most in the village are willing to suspend their disbelief when they talk of Suraj Pal, a few say they have other reasons to back him.

Bhanu Pratap, who works as a data entry operator in the Block office, says while the village has its own set of problems — poverty, illiteracy, unemployment — people support Suraj Pal because he is someone from their samaj (community) who has made it big.

“I am not really a follower. Bhole Baba has not done anything for me or for my village. But I support him after what happened in Hathras. If the same incident had happened in an upper caste preacher’s event, no one would have cared. But because he is from our samaj, everyone is out looking for him.”