Grand ashrams, luxury cars: Bhole Baba's assets worth Rs 100 cr under scanner after Hathras tragedy

-The religious preacher arrives in front of his followers in a procession accompanied by a convoy of at least 20 vehicles

Suraj Pal Singh or Bhole Baba, the self-styled godman who gained massive following after he turned into a religious preacher two decades ago, reportedly possesses assets worth over Rs 100 crore.

His wealth has been at the centre of attention after a deadly stampede occurred at his 'satsang' site in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras. A total of 121 people, mostly women, died in the stampede after a religious gathering of the self-styled godman.

Preliminary reports suggested that the stampede occurred when a large number of his followers rushed towards Narayan Saakar Hari aka Bhole Baba when he was leaving to get a closer glimpse of the preacher and collect his "charan raj".

With a probe being initiated against the religious preacher over the tragic incident, authorities have seized documents revealing assets worth over Rs 100 crore linked to him even as he claims he never accepts donation, according to a report by the Times of India.

The report added that he oversees 24 luxurious ashrams, drives plush cars, and employs a private security force.

In Mainpuri, he has a luxurious ashram spanning over 21 bighas of land with six large room reserved for him which was built with the donation received from 200 people towards its construction. He has another ashram in Kanpur spanning over 14 bighas of land in Kasui village.

The religious preacher arrives in front of his followers in a procession accompanied by a convoy of at least 20 vehicles, led by 15 commandos in black uniforms on motorcycles, which include mostly Royal Enfield Bullets, to clear the path, the TOI report added further.

He has another ashram in his ancestral village of Bahadur Nagar in Kasganj district which encompasses 60 bighas of land.

In his native village, locals say Baba is more than 60 years of age and does not have any children. They said he had adopted a girl, who died around 16-17 years back, news agency PTI reported. Baba had kept her body at home for two days hoping she would come alive, they claimed. The police had to intervene and the girl was cremated thereafter, the locals claimed.

Earlier today, the self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari aka Bhole Baba broke his silence on the devastating incident. In a video statement, he said he has complete faith that the one who created chaos in Hathras would not be spared.

"I am deeply saddened after the incident of July 2. May God give us the strength to bear this pain. Please keep faith in the government and the administration. I have faith that anyone who created the chaos would not be spared," 'Bhole Baba' said in conversation with news agency ANI.

On July 3, the Uttar Pradesh government had formed a three-member judicial commission headed by a retired high court judge to probe the Hathras tragedy and to look into the possibility of a conspiracy behind the stampede.