351 Jagannath Temple servitors test positive for COVID-19
Puri: At least 351 servitors and 53 employees of Shree Jagannath Temple here have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said. A total of 404 persons engaged in the 12th century shrine have tested positive for the virus, said Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) administrator Ajay Jena.
He said the Lord Jagannath's rituals, however, are continuing as usual despite the absence of so many servitors. The Jagannath temple is closed for devotees since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The official said as most of the servitors are in home isolation after testing positive for the infection and there is a shortage of knowledgeable people to perform rituals.
At least a group of 13 priests each are required to perform rituals for the sibling deities - Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath. Therefore, the presence of 39 priests apart from other servitors are essential to perform daily rituals of the oldest Lord Vishnu Temple here, who is being worshipped since ages in the form of Lord Jagannath.
The uniqueness of the Puri temple is that rituals are interconnected with each other, they start from early hours till late in the night. If one ritual is not performed, next one could not be performed as per the temple tradition, said Bhaskar Mishra, a researcher in Jagannath culture.
If more number of servitors test positive for the virus in the coming days, there might be a problem. The administration is considering a proposal to engage junior servitors, he said.
So far, a total of 9,704 COVID-19 cases have been detected in Puri district of which 1,255 cases are reported from Puri Municipality area alone. Of the 52 deaths reported in the district, nine hail from the Puri Municipality area. At least three of the nine fatalities in Puri town are servitors engaged in the temple rituals, the district health officials said.
The administration had conducted COVID-19 test of all the servitors engaged in the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath. Then only two servitors had tested positive for COVID-19. However, the infection struck Puri about a month after the festival, an official said, adding that the SJTA used to provide homoeopathy preventive medicines to servitors' families to keep them safe.
Meanwhile, the state government in an affidavit informed the Orissa High Court that it is not possible to reopen the temple including Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri for devotees under the prevailing COVID pandemic. The temple remains closed for devotees since March.
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Money-dispute angle emerges in Delhi bus gangrape case
New Delhi (PTI): Police probing the alleged gangrape of a 30-year-old woman inside a private sleeper bus in Outer Delhi have found that there was a dispute over money between the victim and the accused, sources said on Friday.
The woman was allegedly dragged inside the bus and raped by the driver and the conductor in the Mangolpuri area here on May 11. Both the accused were arrested the following day.
According to the police sources, the woman, in her complaint, has stated that there was a dispute over money with the accused.
The sources also said that one of the accused did not flee the spot after the incident and the victim later used his mobile phone to call police.
The woman has also told police that her husband is suffering from a medical condition and is unable to work. The couple have four children and she has been working to support the family, the sources said.
Police are probing the case from all angles and have already seized the bus. CCTV footage from the route taken by the vehicle on the day of the incident is also being examined.
The case was registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) dealing with rape and gangrape, police said.
