Puri: The district administration and the police remained mute spectators as thousands of devotees barged into Jagannath Temple on Friday after breaking the iron barricades.
According to sources, thousands of devotees had waited outside the temple for hours in the morning for the doors to open. The sevayats had closed the temple in protest against police assault on a senior sevayats on Wednesday afternoon.
But as there was no solution to the ongoing stalemate, the irate devotees forcibly went inside the temple premises by breaking the iron barricades.
Criticising the ineptness of the temple administration in resolving the demands of the sevayats, the incensed devotees asked the administration to restore normalcy at the earliest and allow them to have the darshan of the Lords.
Though the devotees managed to enter the temple, they could not have the darshan of the Lords as the doors of the main temple were closed.
Meanwhile, the imperious and callous statement of the Puri SP Sarthak Sarangi to the media about the incident has surprised one and all.
“There is no reason for the devotees to express their resentment as such incident in this temple has not occurred for the first time. Since the sevayats have the rights to perform the rituals of the Lords, it is up to them to take a call on this matter. If they do not perform the rituals and close the doors of the main temple, the devotees will return as they have nothing to say,” he added.
Asked about the incident and the efforts of the police in resolving the matter, the SP said the CCTV footage of the incident is being verified.
“The sevayats have demanded withdrawal of case registered by the temple police against the sevayat, who was allegedly assaulted. But it is not possible to withdraw the case,” he maintained.
On the possibility of resolving the impasse, the SP said “We are trying our best to restore normalcy at the earliest possible. Since the devotees are now aware of the incident, they should not wait at the Jagannath Temple. Let them visit the beach area and other temples and tourist places in Puri till the temple is opened.”
