The self-styled Indian preacher whose latest sermon ended in a deadly stampede is not hiding from police, his lawyer told AFP on July 4, without disclosing the guru's whereabouts.Archbishop Peña Parra gives testimony at British High CourtA portrait of former police constable-turned-Hindu preacher Bhole Baba is displayed on the terrace of his ashram at Bichhawan village in Mainpuri district, in India’s Uttar Pradesh state on July 4.
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. 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.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.
A police report issued after the stampede named several organizers of the prayer meeting sought for arrest, but Baba's name was not among them. Authorities had only given permission for 80,000 people to attend the sermon, less than a third of the number that turned up.Officials initially blamed a dust storm for sparking panic, while police later said the stampede began when"followers started to collect earth" from the ground where the preacher had passed.