Devotee Manhandled By Servitors Inside Puri Jagannath Temple Over ‘Dakshina’

Puri: A devotee was allegedly assaulted by servitors inside Jagannath Temple here on Sunday.

The victim was identified as Chetan G Amolkar, hailing from Thane in Maharashtra.

According to available information, Chetan and his family had gone to the temple for ‘darshan’. A group of servitors allegedly demanded a huge amount of money towards ‘dakshina’ for offering prayer to the deities. When he refused to pay the amount, the servitors started beating him up and snatched away his gold chain. Chetan sustained injuries on his right hand. Although he managed to get his gold chain back, one of the servitors took away the pendant attached to it.

Following the incident, the victim lodged a complaint at Singhadwar police, alleging that he and his wife were was manhandled by servitors for paying them less.

“Basing on the complaint, a case has been registered and inquiry is on”, informed Singhadwar inspector-in-charge Gokul Ranjan Das.