Bhole Baba, the 'godman' whose 'prayer meet' in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras Wednesday ended in a stampede that killed 121 people, and who has been absconding since, issued a statement this evening declaring he will take legal action against "anti-social elements" that allegedly engineered the horrific chaos.
Bhole Baba, whose real name is Suraj Pal Singh, also said he expressed "deepest condolences to the families of the deceased".
The 'godman' has not, so far, been named in the one police case to have been filed at this time. His aide and the event organisers have been named and they are charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and wrongful restraint. State police chief Prashant Kumar was non-committal when asked if Bhole Baba will be arrested, saying, "Action will be taken based on facts."
Earlier today UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the organisers of the meeting had tried to "cover up the incident', and announced a high-level committee, to be led by a retired High Court judge, to probe the incident.
The committee, which will also include retired cops and senior civic officials will investigate potential lapses, of which several, including questions over permission and a possible lack of crowd safety measures, have already been flagged.
"The culprits won't be spared," the Chief Minister declared.
"We cannot deny this stampede is not an accident… (but), if not accident, then it was a conspiracy by whom? We will conduct a judicial inquiry under a retired High Court judge."
Yogi Adityanath confirmed what reports this morning that the stampede had been triggered by a tug-of-war – between parts of the massive crowd pushing to touch the godman's feet and those trying to leave the venue after the 'prayer meeting' was completed.
"I spoke to some of the witnesses… they said that during the 'satsang', when women wanted to touch the godman's feet, a sea of people pushed forward and security (Bhole Baba's private detail) pushed back. Then they tried to cover up the issue," he said.
"And, when people were being taken to hospitals, the security team ran away."
Children were among 121 crushed to death by a frenzied crowd – by some estimates over 2.5 lakh – in Hathras Tuesday afternoon.