Keeping up with UP | Is it time to rein in self-styled godmen?

The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered separate probes into the stampede at a religious gathering of self-styled godman Suraj Pal Jatav alias Bhole Baba in Uttar Prdesh's Hathras that left 121 people dead on July 2. Former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Alok Ranjan called for a database through an audit without interfering in their religious activities to help prevent incidents such as the Hathras stampede as well as exploitation. Former state police chief Prakash Singh said a countrywide drive could be launched to check the credentials of self-styled godmen irrespective of their faith without introducing any new law to regulate their activities or expansion. Former police officer and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajya Sabha member Brij Lal echoed Vikram Singh on the need to check private armies from wearing khaki and olive green or else punish them for impersonation.