Puri temple stampede: Odisha govt transfers district collector, SP; 2 cops suspended
Bhubaneswar (PTI): In a punitive measure following the Puri temple stampede that left three people dead and nearly 50 injured on Sunday, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi ordered the transfer of District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and SP Vineet Agrawal.
Terming the “negligence” leading to the stampede as “unpardonable”, Majhi also announced the suspension of two police officers – DCP Bishnu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padhi – an official release said.
The CM appointed Khurda District Collector Chanchal Rana as the new collector of Puri. Agrawal will be replaced by Pinak Mishra as Puri SP.
Majhi also ordered an administrative inquiry into the matter to be carried out under the supervision of the development commissioner.
The Odisha government will provide financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased, the release added.
At least three persons, including two women, were killed and around 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple in Odisha’s Puri on Sunday morning, officials said.
The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, they said.
Chaos ensued after two trucks carrying materials for rituals reportedly entered the crowded spot near the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities.
Devotees in large numbers had assembled outside the temple since the early hours to catch a glimpse of the deities when the ‘Pahuda’ (cloth) covering their faces was to be removed, as part of the rituals, they said.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
