Policemen Can’t Enter Jagannath Temple With Weapons, Shoes: SC

New Delhi: Taking note of the October 3 violence in Puri, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that no policeman should enter the Jagannath Temple, carrying weapons and wearing shoes.

The Odisha government, however, informed the apex court that the violent protests had not happened inside the temple but the office of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) was attacked and ransacked.

A total of 47 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, it added.

During the 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh on October 3, policemen had entered the temple wearing shoes and carrying weapons to disperse the unruly mod that had went on the rampage, uprooting the barricades erected at Baisi Pahacha and ransacking the office of the temple administration.

The bandh call was given by Jagannath Sena in protest against the ‘dhadi darshan’ (queue system), which was being implemented by the SJTA on an experimental basis beginning October 1.

The peaceful agitation turned violent after the police picked up the convener of the organisation, Priyadarshan Patnaik, from his house earlier that day.

A temporary shed near Simhadwara police station was also set on fire. The agitators ransacked the house of Puri MLA and minister Maheswar Mohanty and pelted the SP official residence with stones.

Nine policemen were injured in the violence.