Day after stampede, thousands make beeline to have glimpse of sibling deities in Puri
Puri (PTI): A day after three people were killed and 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha temple in Puri, thousands of devotees on Monday made a beeline to have a darshan of the sibling deities -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath.
In view of Sunday's incident, barricades have been erected in front of the Shree Gundicha temple and different queues made for the smooth darshan of the deities at 'Adapa Mandap' (the podium on which the deities are seated) situated inside the temple, a senior police officer said.
"We are alert... by the grace of the Lord, everything is running smoothly. Devotees are entering the Shree Gundicha Temple without any hassle," said Soumendra Priyadarshi, an ADG-rank IPS officer who has been assigned the responsibility of overseeing the police arrangement during Rath Yatra.
He was assigned the task by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi after the stampede.
Devotees believe that they can wash away their sins if they have darshan of Lord Jagannath atop the 'Adapa Mandap'.
At least three persons, including two women, were killed and around 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha temple in Puri on Sunday morning during a ceremony related to the ongoing Rath Yatra festivities, officials said.
The incident took place around 4:20 am when thousands of devotees had gathered near the chariots parked in front of the temple, they said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
3 DRG personnel killed, 1 injured as IED goes off during demining operation in Chhattisgarh
Kanker (PTI): Three personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), including an inspector, were killed and another jawan was injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) went off while they were trying to neutralise it in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, police said.
This was the first blast incident linked to Naxalite activity in the state since the country was declared free from armed Maoists on March 31.
The explosion occurred in a forest area under Chhotebethiya police station limits, near the Narayanpur district border, when a DRG team was conducting a demining operation to locate and defuse IEDs planted earlier by Naxalites, a police official said.
ALSO READ: Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link now fully operational
During the operation, the security personnel detected an IED. However, the explosive went off while they were in the process of defusing it, seriously injuring four personnel, he said.
Inspector Sukhram Vatti, constable Krishna Komra and constable Sanjay Gadhpale succumbed to their injuries on the spot, the official said.
Another injured constable, Parmanand Komra, is undergoing treatment and receiving necessary medical care, he said.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam said, based on inputs from surrendered Maoist cadres and other intelligence over the past few months, security forces had recovered and neutralised hundreds of IEDs planted earlier by Naxalites across the Bastar range, comprising seven districts, including Kanker.
"However, in today's unfortunate incident, the IED accidentally exploded while the Kanker district police team was trying to defuse it, resulting in the death of three personnel and serious injuries to one," he said.
