People stand near a poster of preacher Bhole Baba who led a prayer meeting on July 2 that ended with the deaths of 121 people during a stampede. MAINPURI, India – The self-styled Indian preacher whose latest sermon ended in a deadly stampede is not hiding from police, his lawyer said on July 4, without disclosing the guru’s whereabouts. Bhole Baba’s prayer meeting on July 2 near the northern city of Hathras saw the deaths of 121 people , the vast majority of them women, after a rush to the exits among the 250,000 devotees who came to listen to his preachings.
The former police officer-turned-spiritual leader has not been seen in public since, but local media reports suggested he retreated to his nearby monastery, the doors of which have been chained shut by supporters inside, to bar public access. Bhole Baba’s lawyer, Mr A.P.
Singh, said his client was not to blame for the July 2 disaster and was not on the run. “There is no reason for him to hide. He has never hidden in his life,” Mr Singh said.
“He believes in the law. He is following police directions.” He said “anti-social elements” in the crowd were responsible for the stampede, and that Bhole Baba would participate in a police investigation into the disaster.
“An investigation is going on. We will participate,” he said. Mr Singh declined to confirm Bhole Baba’s exact location, beyond saying he remained in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, home to his monastery in the city of Mainpuri and the.
