''What should I do if so many people come at once?'' Andhra temple founder on stampede that killed 9
Kasibugga (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): Claiming he was not responsible for the tragic stampede at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple here that left nine devotees dead, the 94-year-old founder of the temple has said devotees rushed on their own during the gathering.
He further said he had not informed the police as he thought everything would be normal like any other day and did not expect such a big crowd on Saturday.
Nine people--eight women and a boy--were killed and many others injured in the stampede at the temple constructed by Panda on his own land, here in Srikakulam District, on Saturday.
The tragedy was worsened by the Ekadasi observance coinciding with 'Karthika Masam', drawing large crowds.
"What should I do if so many people come at once? I usually send everyone in line but yesterday there were so many people. I don't know what happened, I did not inform any police," temple priest Mukunda Panda told videos.
"I did not inform the police. I have courage, I told everyone to go in a queue line. People came for darshan — what can I do if they rushed and the situation turned like this?” temple priest Mukunda Panda asked while speaking to the media.
He further said he was there until 3 PM without having lunch even as police came and controlled the crowd.
The temple, owned by priest Mukunda Panda, was neither converted for non-agricultural use nor registered with the Endowments Department, and the organisers failed to inform local police before conducting the event, Srikakulam district superintendent of police, KV Maheshwara Reddy told PTI.
The SP said the temple organisers neither sought mandatory permissions nor applied for police protection before conducting the event.
According to the SP, the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple is a private establishment and was operating without proper approvals. The organisers reportedly failed to comply with safety protocols. Meanwhile, police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
