Hathras crush: Indian preacher denies blame for deaths, lawyer tells BBC

The priest who led a crowded meditation meeting in India on Tuesday, at which more than 120 people died, has denied responsibility and pledged to cooperate with the police investigation.

Bhole Baba, the self-styled guru, was charged with a” criminal conspiracy hatched against” his client by a lawyer who spoke to the BBC and claimed the lover took place because of” some anti-social parts.”

Bhole Baba- whose true name is Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari- will totally co- work with the investigation, his lawyer AP Singh said.

Nearly all of the victims were children and women who were observing the Hindu religious holiday satsang in the Hathras city.

It has sparked anger in India and concerns about a lack of safety measures.

Mr. Singh also refuted accounts that security guards at the event reportedly caused a wave of fear by escorting away attendees seeking Bhole Baba’s gift.

” Absolutely false allegation”, Mr Singh told the BBC. ” Security employees often provide support to the supporters”.

One of the worst breaks to occur in India in centuries is this.

Individuals driving the wounded to hospitals in pick-up cars, tuk tuks, and even on motorcycles have been seen in disturbing photographs from the aftermath of the disaster.

The lover took place in Pulrai town, where Bhole Baba was holding a religious meeting.

An original police statement said that officers had given permission for 80, 000 people to gather, but some 250, 000 people turned up to the occasion.

According to the report, the conflict started when the priest fled. Witnesses reported that as hundreds of people rushed toward the priest as he left the place, they lost their balance and began to fall on top of one another.

Survivor reports that a number of those squatting and sitting on the ground got crushed as persons ran after his car.

Ashish Yadav, one of the first people to arrive on the scene, claimed that hundreds of women were fleeing Bhole Baba’s vehicles as he was leaving.

Some people” crossed the bridge” to see his vehicle better. In the fight, many people fell in the discharge located to the bridge. Folks started falling on top of each other”, Mr Yadav said.

Some people attempted to cross the road to a piece of mud-soaked fields, but the organizers violently stopped them and caused them to fall.

Bhole Baba was previously known as Suraj Pal, but he apparently renamed himself Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari.

The preacher was a police officer, according to a senior police officer in Uttar Pradesh, but his employment was terminated after a legal case was brought against him.

He was reinstated in the army after a judge ordered him to leave his position in 2002, according to the senior agent.

In Hathras and the surrounding areas, the priest has gathered hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts.

Bhole Baba is known to have an ashram in Mainpuri, about 100km ( 62 miles ) from Pulrai village.

His attorney informed the BBC that his customer is currently residing at his monastery. In the first officers issue, the preacher has not been identified.