Before his life began as Bhole Baba, the self-proclaimed religious guru was a policeman in Uttar Pradesh and went by the name Suraj Pal Singh. Clean-shaven with neatly cropped hair, and his choice of fashion – wrinkle-free white shirt or suit – Bhole Baba cuts a dapper business-like figure unusual of a typical traditionally robed Indian guru. His legion of followers believes he has the divine powers to alleviate human suffering.
But on July 2, his star power led to the tragic deaths of more than 100 people at his religious congregation in an open field by a highway i n the Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh state . There, a lack of control over his fervent flock – believed to number around 250,000 – ended in a chaotic stampede. The guru reportedly fled the scene in his car.
This is not the first time a gathering of his congregation has garnered a massive turnout. In 2022, Bhole Baba’s congregation, or “satsang”, in Farrukhabad, a city in Uttar Pradesh, numbered over 50,000 devotees despite the Covid-19 rule that restricted the number of attendees to 50. Traffic was disrupted across the city.
Before his life began as Bhole Baba or Narayan Sakar Vishva Hari, the self-proclaimed religious teacher was a head constable in Uttar Pradesh known by the name Suraj Pal Singh. According to Mr Yogi Adityanath, the state chief minister, the July 2 disaster occurred when a group of devotees began pushing towards the stage to touch Mr Singh as he was getting off it at the end of.
