Puri: Two separate incidents of security breach were reported in Shre Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri on Friday, raising serious safety concerns.
In the first incident, a devotee from Jajpur, identified as Shankar Mishra, allegedly sneaked into the sanctum sanctorum of the temple disguised as a servitor after the Gopal Ballabha ritual and touched the Ratna Singhasan before being apprehended. He was subsequently detained and questioned by the police.
Another devotee, Bharat Pandya from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, was caught wearing spectacles fitted with concealed cameras inside the premises of the 12th century shrine. He was detained by Jagannath Temple Police near the Jagamohan after being alerted by temple authorities.
Pandya was taken to the Singhadwara police station for questioning.
“The 55-year-old devotee from Ahmedabad was caught with a spy camera after temple servitors found his behaviour suspicious. His phone and the camera have been seized by the Singhadwara Police.” Puri SP Prateek Singh told the media.
On the case involving the disguised devotee, Singh noted that it’s challenging for police personnel to recognize every temple servitor, as they are deployed on a rotational basis.
