Puri Yatra Stampede: Cops Suspended, Probe Ordered

Puri Yatra Stampede: A stampede Sunday morning during the continuing Jagannath Rath Yatra, in Puri, Odisha, led to at least three deaths and more than 50 injuries that would lead to a major investigation and public apologies from the Odisha government.

It happened, in the early hours, at a point, close to the Gundicha Temple, which was one of the most important places in the annual religious procession, and onto which great crowds had converged.

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Majhi, chief minister, held an emergency meeting after the tragedy and admitted the whole responsibility of the mishap. He promised the society that an intense investigation is going on concerning the matter and that stringent measures will be exercised against individuals proven guilty.

“We are committed to ensuring such incidents are not repeated. The safety of devotees is our top priority,” the chief minister said.

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10 Points of The Jagannath Yatra stampede in Odisha's Puri

• These stampede at Puri took place at 4 AM on Sunday morning when some of the devotees were awaiting the unveiling of the three deities on the chariots near Gundicha Temple.
• Ahead of the incident, two trucks filled with Charamala wood (which is sacred) drove into the Saradhabali region and this caused panic among the people of the devotees.
• There Eyewitnesses also claim that there was poor crowd control and a different entrance was even made where the VIPs could pass. A resident says it was asking common people to leave the temple at a distance. However, the eyewitnesses said that some began to leave directly through the entrance, adding crowds to the entrance.
• The Minister of State (law) Harichandan stated that Director General of Police (DGP) of Odisha is probing into the crush incident, and strict measures against culprits shall be taken. YB Khurania, Odisha DGP said, an investigation is under way in this regard.
• Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi held a meeting with the deputies to analyze the situation, PTI quoted an official. Majhi made apology on behalf of the state government over the incident and is requesting apology of the devotees of Lord Jagannath. He also declared a 25 Lakhs of help to the families to the people who lost their lives.
• On the stampede, Puri DCP Bishnu Charan Pati and Police Commandant Ajay Padhi were suspended. Collector Siddharth S Swain and SP Binit Agarwal have been received transfer.
• After the stampede, Senior Daitapati servitor (sevayat) of the Puri Jagannath Temple, Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra, said that he was shocked over victims and administration should make proper arrangements to make devotees safe.
• Rahul Gandhi, the leader of a group of opposition in Lok Sabha, added that the stampede in Puri was a wakeup call reminding measures to be taken on security and crowd control during large gatherings or events ought to be prepared and reviewed properly.
• The titular king of Puri, Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingha Deb said he was shocked and saddened by the incident and offered his condolences to the families of those that lost loved ones. He also called upon the Odisha government to convene an immediate investigation of the stampede that cover the entire matter.
• Biju Janata Dal leader and former chief minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik sent condolences to stampede victims and prayed to God so that the wounded people could make a recovery. Patnaik accused crowd management as an abysmal failure in the Rath Yatra.

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