Idol of Lord Balabhadra falls on servitors during Rath Yatra ritual in Puri, nine injured
Bhubaneswar, Jul 9: At least nine servitors of the Puri Jagannath temple were injured on Tuesday when the idol of Lord Balabhadra fell on them while it was being taken out from the chariot to a temple as part of the Rath Yatra festival, an official said.
Of the nine, five were admitted to a hospital while four others suffered minor injuries, Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said.
The mishap happened when the heavy wooden idol was being brought down from Lord Balabhadra's chariot to be taken to the Gundicha temple.
This is known as 'Pahandi' ritual. It appears that those who were carrying the idol lost control of it.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed concern about the incident and directed Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan to visit Puri immediately and take appropriate steps.
The Puri Jagannath temple is under the state government's law department.
The chief minister wished for speedy recovery of the injured servitors.
The ritual of the sibling deities - Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra - resumed soon after the mishap and all the idols were taken inside the Gundicha temple.
They will remain in the Gundicha Temple till ‘Bahuda Jatra' or the return car festival on July 15.
Lord Balabhadra's Idol Falls On People During Puri Rath Yatra, 9 Injured.#Odisha #puri #RathaYatra pic.twitter.com/xEc5M1Wcnf
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Conspiracy afoot to 'tarnish' image of Dharmasthala: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Aug 14 (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said there was a “conspiracy” to tarnish the image of Dharmasthala.
His comments come amid an ongoing investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into serious allegations of mass burials in the revered temple town in Dakshina Kannada district.
“A conspiracy is being hatched to destroy hundreds of years of legacy. It is not correct to tarnish someone just like that. It has all happened due to one complainant,” he said.
Noting that some Congress MLAs have called for action against those involved in the slander campaign at the legislature party meeting, he said, “ I have told them that action must be taken against those who are indulging in a slander campaign. The CM has also said that action must be taken against such people.”
“I have information on this case. Religious feelings should not be hurt in any manner. Culprits must be punished,” he told reporters, according to a release from his office.
Responding to a question, Shivakumar said the Congress party will not allow the image of any religious place to be tarnished.
“We see everyone equally when it comes to religion,” he added.
The SIT, formed by the state government, is probing claims of mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
The complainant, a former sanitation worker whose identity has not been revealed, alleged that between 1995 and 2014 he was forced to handle bodies—including women and minors—and that some showed signs of sexual assault. He has given a statement before a magistrate.
As part of the probe, the SIT has been conducting exhumations at multiple locations identified by the complainant-witness in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River in Dharmasthala, where some skeletal remains have been found at two sites so far.
