A priest from India who’s most recent sermon, which ended in a fatal stampede that left more than 120 people dead, argued that fate could not be contested and that death was unavoidable.
Bhole Baba said he was shocked by the horror in his first press appearance since Jul 2, when 121 persons were crushed to death following a speech he delivered in the northern area of Hathras.
” I am really frightened by what happened, but who can potentially issue destiny”? he said.
” Whoever enters this world has to leave one day; it’s simply a matter of when.”
The police constable-turned-preacher spoke to local media on Wednesday ( Jul 17 ) at one of his monasteries in Kasganj, around 60km from the stampede site.
Baba’s prosecutor had earlier said “anti-social components” in the crowd were concerned.
The prayer conference was attended by 250, 000 followers, more than three times the approved range. The majority of casualties were caused by people.
Baba was not one of the many alleged arrest ringleaders who were identified in a police report released following the stampede.
Thus far 11 individuals working for him have been arrested.
Religious groups in India have a terrible history of fatalities brought on by poor group control and safety practices.
In a panic at a hillside church in Jodhpur’s northern city in 2008, 224 travellers were killed and more than 400 were hurt.