GUWAHATI: A popular religious leader has come under heavy criticism for his remarks on the victims of the Maha Kumbh stampede.
ALSO READ: Guwahati-North Guwahati Bridge To Be Completed By June 2025
Religious preacher Dhirendra Shashtri, also known as ‘Bageshwar Dham Baba, said in an event on January 31, "So many people are dying in the country daily owing to lack of medicine...from heart attacks....everyone will die one day. Whosoever dies on the bank of the Ganga are not actually dead...they will get moksha."
The preacher was sharply criticised by other religious leaders for his remarks, with many calling it 'insensitive' and others suggesting that he could attain ‘moksha’ himself by opting to ‘die’ at the Mahakumbh.
"I am ready to help him get moksha in this way if he wants. It is very easy to say this (those who died attained moksha).....think of the mothers, children, the elders who were trampled to death in the stampede,", Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwarananda reportedly old media.
Two stampedes were reported at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on January 29 claiming the lives of 37 people and injuring over 60 people.