From Baba Rajinder Kalia to Nityanand… Babas of the country with their own 'Empire'

121 devotees died in a stampede during a satsang held in Uttar Pradesh's Hadhras on Tuesday. A satsang was organized at Sikandra Rao's Pulrai village in Hadhras district. The Hadhras Satsang incident has created a sensation across the country. More than 24 hours after the accident, Baba Narayan Sagar Hari, alias Boleh Baba, is missing. No one has any news about Bole Baba yet. Bole Baba describes himself as a former employee of the Intelligence Service. Bole Baba has an empire in many states of the country and lakhs of people gather in every satsang meeting. He has followers outside Uttar Pradesh as far as Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Baba's satsang is held in many districts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand in Gwalior. However, like Bole Baba, there is a long list of such Babas in the country whose empire spans not only the country but also the world. Baba Rajinder Kalia left India and established his empire in Britain. Devotees of Kalia regard him as God's incarnation on earth and worship him as God. Rajendra Kalia was born in Punjab. He calls himself an avatar of Baba Balak Nath. Kalia reached Britain in 1977, where he began preaching from his home in 1983. Baba purchased land in Coventry in 1986 and built a temple on it, which was registered in the name of Siddha Baba Balak Nath Ji Society. Baba Kalia says that he talks to God every day and has direct communication with God. However, now his own former disciples have accused him of rape and sexual harassment. Baba is accused of raping a woman 1320 times in 22 years. Baba Nityanand Swami Nityanand, who calls himself God, has established a country called Kailasam for his devotees. Nithyananda left India in 2019. Nithyananda has many serious allegations of rape and kidnapping in the country. The media reported that Nithyananda, who fled India, took land in Ecuador, South America and settled in Kailash. Later Nityananda declared a separate country. Kailash's representative at the United Nations (UN) Vijayapriya had said that Nithyananda's Kailash had a population of 20 lakhs. It also has embassies in 150 countries. Nithyananda opened his first ashram in 2003 in Bengaluru. Nithyananda was accused of rape in 2010, after which he came into the limelight. Baba Ram Rahim Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is the head of Dera Sacha Sauda based in Sirsa, Haryana. Dera Sacha Sauda was founded in 1968 by Shah Mastana Ji. The third leader of this organization was Ram Rahim. Ram Rahim has many cases of murder, rape and criminal intimidation against him. Ram Rahim has been jailed for 20 years in a rape case. During Ram Rahim's tenure, the Dera got a lot of publicity and its followers increased manifold. A separate coin was used in the Dera Sacha Sauda at Sirsa. The coins circulated in Dera Sacha Sauda were inscribed Dhan Dhan Satguru Dera Hi Asara, Dera Sacha Sauda Sirsa. It is spread over an area of ​​about a thousand acres. There are schools, sports, villages, hospitals and cinema halls within the Dera Sacha Sauda. Asaram Babu Asaram Babu has more than 400 ashrams, more than 1500 service groups, more than 17,000 child development centers and more than 40 gurukuls across the country. Till 2013, Asaram Babu was a big name in the country. However, in 2013, a minor girl from UP told the police that Asaram physically molested her at an ashram in Jodhpur. He was subsequently medically examined and this proved to be the case. After this case, Baba's empire gradually began to decline. After the incident, a woman from Surat filed a case of rape and kidnapping against Asaram Babu and seven others in 2013. In this case, the police filed a charge sheet in July 2014. In 2018, a Jodhpur court convicted Asaram Babu and sentenced him to life imprisonment in the case. A separate case against Asaram's son Narayan Sai is pending in the Surat court. Ichadhari Bhimanand popularly known as Ichadhari Bhimanand Baba has Ashrams at many places like Sai Param Bhawan Dham Ashram of Srimurat Dwivedi – Sai Nagar, Chamrauha, Manikpur, Chitrakoot, UP. Srimurath quit his job as a security guard at a five-star hotel and declared himself Baba in 1988. However, it was later revealed that Bhimanand was running a high-profile sex racket. Baba Rampal Baba Rampal, director of the Satlok Ashram in Hisar, Haryana, also built an empire for his devotees. Rampal's camp is named 'Sadguru Rampal Ji Maharaj' and is estimated to be worth around Rs 100 crore. Rampal's tent had a five-story house, a long swimming pool and air-conditioned rooms with massage beds, in-room LED TVs and exercise equipment. Several cases have been registered against Rampal, including opening an illegal abortion center, murder, possession of weapons in the ashram, obstruction of government work.