Indian preacher not hiding after stampede, lawyer says

MAINPURI, India: The self-styled Indian preacher whose latest sermon ended in a deadly stampede is not hiding from police, his lawyer told AFP on Thursday, without disclosing the guru´s whereabouts.

Bhole Baba´s prayer meeting near the northern city of Hathras saw the deaths of 121 people, the vast majority women, after a rush to the exits among the 250,000 devotees who came to watch him preach.

The former police officer-turned-spiritual leader has not been seen in public since, while six others involved in staging the event have been arrested.

Local media reports suggested he had retreated to his nearby monastery, the gates of which have been chained shut by supporters inside to bar public access.

Baba´s lawyer A.P. Singh told AFP that his client was not to blame for Tuesday´s disaster and was not on the run.

“There is no reason for him to hide. He has never hidden in his life,” Singh said. “He believes in the law. He is following police directions.”

The lawyer said that “anti-social elements” in the crowd were responsible for the stampede and that Baba would participate in a police investigation into the disaster.

“An investigation is going on. We will participate,” he said.

Singh declined to confirm Baba´s exact location to AFP beyond saying he remained in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, home to his monastery in the city of Mainpuri and the nearby site of the stampede.

Police inspector Shalabh Mathur said six people had been arrested so far for their alleged role in the disaster, all of whom were members of the organising committee for the sermon.