Hathras Stampede: A full week has passed since the Hathras incident. On July 9, the UP government suspended 6 officers including SDM and CO in the case, but not a single FIR was registered against the person whose sermons lakhs of people had gathered to listen to.
In this entire case, on one hand the victim’s family is demanding punishment for Baba Bholenath alias Surajpal Singh Jatav, while on the other hand, even after the stampede on July 2, Narayan Hari’s location is not being traced.
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Meanwhile, many news came about Surajpal’s whereabouts, someone claimed that Baba was hiding in the Mainpuri ashram, while someone said that he was underground in another ashram.
In such a situation, let us know in detail in this report that why an FIR is not being registered against Baba who claims that all problems will be solved by the dust of his feet?
Why FIR was not registered, 3 major reasons
Surajpal was not the organiser:
On 9th July, the UP government took action in the Hathras case and suspended 6 officers. The government took this action after the SIT report. Surajpal’s name is not mentioned anywhere in this report. Instead, the organisers and administrative officers were called negligent in this entire case. In this way, after the district administration, Surajpal has got a clean chit from the government as well.
Understand it this way that when an accident happens in a satsang or any big public event, cases are filed against the organizers because the organizers are responsible for organizing the event and it is their responsibility to ensure the safety of the people present there during the entire event.
Apart from this, while organizing any big event, it is necessary for the organizers to follow security arrangements. This includes emergency exits, medical facilities, crowd management, and other security measures.
For organizing any big event, the relevant administrative and legal permissions have to be taken. If the organizers do not follow these rules and due to this any accident happens, then legal action can be taken against them. Apart from this, if it is found that the organizers have been negligent, then it becomes a legal issue and a case can be registered against the organizers.
Surajpal Singh comes from Jatav community:
By-elections are proposed on 8 assembly seats in UP. In such a situation, senior journalists believe that Surajpal Singh has a good hold in 30 districts of western UP and more than 130 assembly seats. Baba himself comes from the Jatav community and most of his followers are from Dalit and OBC community. In such a situation, if any party speaks against him, then the Dalit vote bank of western UP can be affected.
Actually there are many areas in West UP where Dalit votes are dominant. In this state, from assembly to Lok Sabha elections , long queues of leaders of various parties are seen at the court of Bhole Baba.
Baba has a huge number of supporters especially in the areas from Mainpuri to Agra. There are 10 Lok Sabha seats and at least 50 assembly seats in these areas.
If we look at UP, in 2012, BJP got 5 percent Jatav votes and 11 percent non-Jatav votes. At the same time, in the 2022 assembly elections, this vote percentage increased to 21 percent. That is, in UP, 21 percent of the Jatav community voted for BJP while 41 percent of non-Jatav votes went to BJP.
In such a situation, if the name of Suraj Pal Singh Jatav comes up in the Hathras case, then his lakhs of devotees and people of the Jatav community in UP may get angry with the state government. This is also believed to be a big reason that in this case, from SP to Congress and BJP, no one is openly taking the name of Bhole Baba.
Dalit vote in UP politics:
The population of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh is quite large. The proportion of Dalits in the total population here is about 21 percent, which makes them an important vote bank.
Not only this, the support of Dalits has always been important in the politics of Uttar Pradesh. The rise of BSP was an important event in Dalit politics. BSP came to power on the strength of the support of Dalits and proved how decisive the Dalit vote can be.
1. The tragic death of 121 innocent women and children etc. in the stampede at the Satsang in Hathras district of UP is a living proof of government negligence, but the report presented to the government by the SIT seems to be more politically motivated than based on the gravity of the incident, which is very sad. 1/2— Mayawati (@Mayawati)
Why did only Mayawati take an aggressive stance on this entire issue?
So far, SP, BJP and Congress have not given any statement on the stampede in Hathras regarding the FIR not being lodged against Baba. All three major parties have maintained silence in this matter. However, Mayawati is the first politician from UP who has given a statement against Surajpal Jatav alias Sakar Hari in this entire matter. That too at a time when by-elections are proposed on 8 assembly seats in UP.
Four days after this incident, Mayawati made a scathing comment on Narayan Hari Sakar alias Bhole Baba and wrote on her social media platform, “The poor, Dalits and victims in the country should not increase their pain and suffering by getting misled by the superstition and hypocrisy of many Babas like Bhole Baba of Hathras to get rid of their poverty and all other problems. I want to give this advice to everyone.” Not only this, the BSP supremo has also demanded action against Baba.
Now know the reason behind Mayawati’s aggressive stance
In fact, BSP has had a strong dominance in many areas of Western UP and potato belt from the year 1990 to 2022. But after the year 2022, BSP is losing badly from these areas. Currently, BSP has only one MLA in Uttar Pradesh, while it does not have a single MP in the House.
Not only this, Mayawati who has won the MLA election, also comes from Purvanchal region. In such a situation, Mayawati has nothing much left to lose in these areas. Mayawati is trying to reach out to the people with her old law and order image by targeting Baba.
What senior journalists say
Senior journalist Amit Kumar Bajpai believes that political factors and vote bank dynamics shield Baba Bholenath from an FIR in the Hathras incident. Baba’s influence spans a significant voter base, leading the Samajwadi Party to adopt a lenient stance and Mayawati alone to question the SIT’s actions. This reflects a broader trend where caste and political equations shape outcomes in a democracy.
Mazkoor Alam identifies two main reasons for the absence of an FIR against Baba. Firstly, FIRs are typically filed against event organizers, not individuals like Baba who was merely present. Secondly, without direct blame from witnesses or evidence of his involvement as a trust member, Baba cannot be accused of conspiracy.
Manish Ranjan compares the incident to the Uphaar tragedy, noting that main figures are usually held responsible regardless of direct involvement. The omission of Baba’s name, he argues, is politically motivated, with parties avoiding action against him due to his community’s substantial vote bank.
Sourabh Sharma attributes the leniency towards Baba to caste politics. The Dalit vote shift in the 2024 elections impacted party dynamics, with BJP losing ground to the India Alliance. Protecting Baba, a key figure for votes, became a strategic move, reflected in the weak FIR charges.
