Bhole Baba- a former police officer who turned into a self styled godman
Suraj Pal Singh alias Bhole Baba claims to have worked in the Intelligence Bureau and left policing 26 years ago due to spiritual calling
New Delhi, July 3
A former police official in Uttar Pradesh, the self styled godman ‘Bhole Baba’ has a clout and followers in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan as well as Madhya Pradesh.
Originally called Suraj Pal Singh alias Bhole Baba hails from Bahadur village in the Patiali tehsil of Etah district. He claims to be a former employee of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) however there is no evidence of the same.
He allegedly left his government job 26 years ago to begin delivering religious sermons. Today, he has millions of followers across India, including in western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi.
The godman claimed to live in a hut in his village and travelled across Uttar Pradesh to preach.
Unlike most self-styled godmen, Narayan Hari is seen wearing a white suit and tie or a simple kurta pyjama accompanied by his wife Prem Bati. He also claims he does not keep any money offered to him by followers at his satsangs and distributes it among his followers.
He also has a security team named "Narayani Sena" that consists of men and women guards who escort him from his ashram to the satsang locations.
Notably, unlike many modern religious figures, Bhole Baba stays away from social media and does not have any official accounts on any platform. His followers claim that his influence is substantial at the grassroots level.
Bhole Baba's programs are organised every Tuesday in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, drawing thousands of attendees. During these gatherings, volunteers ensure the necessary arrangements for devotees, including food and drinks.
Bhole Baba gained attention for continuing to draw large crowds despite restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even though the self-styled godman is known to keep his distance from the media, he has been embroiled in several controversies. In 2022, he held a similar satsang in UP's Farrukhabad even as cases of Covid's Delta variant were on the rise. While the district administration only permitted 50 people to attend the event over 50,000 people reached the site to attend the programme. The large crowd led to the significant traffic snarls in the area.
After the tragedy in Hathras gathering of Bhole Baba that claimed 121 innocent lives, the UP Police are on the look out for this former policeman.
