Rath Yatra stampede: Two senior police officials suspended over negligence, Odisha govt announces Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia
Bhubaneswar: In the aftermath of Puri stampede that claimed three lives, Odisha Government on Sunday shunted out Puri District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and Superintendent of Police Vinit Agrawal while two other senior police officials have been placed under suspension.
Collector of Khordha, Chanchal Rana and DIGP of the Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Police, Pinak Mishra have been appointed as Puri Collector and SP respectively, as per a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office following a high-level meeting.
DCP Vishnu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padhee have been placed under suspension for dereliction of duty.
Meanwhile, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi has announced ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakhs for the family members of three devotees, who lost their lives in the stampede.
The Odisha Government has also ordered an administrative inquiry into the tragic mishap under the supervision of the Development Commissioner of Odisha, Anu Garg.
'The Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath is the pride and honour of the Odia people. Negligence in this matter, even if minor, will not be tolerated. Exemplary action will be taken against all the persons responsible for this,' said CM Majhi.
In another important decision, the government has assigned Arvind Agrawal, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Higher Education Department, the charge for overall supervision of the Car Festival in Puri.
Following the stampede in Odisha's Puri that claimed the lives of three pilgrims, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi extended an apology to the devotees of Lord Jagannath, while ordering an immediate investigation into the security lapses.
'Personally, I and my government seek forgiveness from all Jagannath devotees," wrote CM Majhi on his official X handle.
Majhi further expressed condolences to the families of those devotees who lost their lives in the stampede at Saradhabali near Gundicha Temple. He prayed to Lord Jagannath to grant the bereaved family members of the deceased devotees the strength to withstand this profound sorrow.
The stampede occurred early in the morning between 4 a.m.- 4.30 a.m. The deceased have been identified as Pravati Das, Premkant Mohanty and Basanti Sahoo.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
4 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Supreme Court grants Tamil Nadu MLA Jagan Moorthy anticipatory bail in abduction case
The Supreme Court Monday granted anticipatory bail to Tamil Nadu MLA M Jagan Moorthy in the case of the alleged abduction of a teenager in the state's Thiruvallur district, and said 'the matter requires consideration.' Issuing notice to the Tamil Nadu Police, the bench of Justices Manoj Mishra and N Kotiswar Singh directed, 'In the meantime, if the petitioner is arrested in connection with FIR No.101/2025 registered at PS – Thiruvalangadu (renumbered as C.R. No.1/2025), he shall be released on personal bond of Rs.25,000/-, subject to the undertaking that he shall cooperate in the investigation and will not threaten the witnesses or tamper the evidence.' Moorthy, the Kilvaithinankuppam AIADMK MLA, approached the top court after the Madras High Court dismissed his plea on June 27. Appearing for him, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra submitted, 'There is no dispute that the abductee was recovered and not from the possession or control of the applicant.' Luthra contended the legislator 'has been implicated for malafide reasons by alleging that he had a hand in the abduction' and that 'even assuming that the applicant interacted with one of the parties to the dispute, that may be considered for the purposes of settling the issue.' Luthra added, 'In any event, no custodial interrogation is required.' The Madras High Court also ordered the arrest of H M Jayaram, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Tamil Nadu, in the matter, but it was set aside by the Supreme Court. Moorthy and Jayaram were 'implicated' in the May 10 abduction of an 18-year-old boy in Thiruvallur. The boy was reportedly abducted by a group seeking information about his elder brother, who had married a young woman from Theni district against her family's wishes.
India Gazette
8 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Delhi police held 24-year-old man for KYC fraud
New Delhi [India], July 1 (ANI): The South West District Police's Cyber Cell has apprehended a 24-year-old individual, Malya Das, for allegedly duping senior citizens by posing as a representative of a telecom company and asking them to update their KYC details. 'The accused used a unique modus operandi, where he would trick victims into installing the TeamViewer app, gaining access to their mobile phones and siphoning off money. He would then use the stolen funds to play online games,' said a police official. The police received a complaint in 2021 regarding a financial fraud of Rs 1,51,700. After a thorough investigation, the team traced the accused's identity and location. Despite initial attempts to evade capture, Malya Das was finally apprehended in a raid conducted in West Medinipur, West Bengal. Malya Das, a resident of West Medinipur, West Bengal, is a school dropout who had previously been involved in a similar cheating case in Kolkata. The police have revealed that his HDFC account was used to redeem the duped money. The police are still investigating the case and working to apprehend the accused's associate, Toofan. Further investigation is underway to unravel the full extent of the accused's involvement in similar crimes. Meanwhile, in a major crackdown on the illicit cigarette trade, the Delhi Police's Operations Cell in South West District has busted a godown storing banned tobacco products and arrested two men involved in its distribution, an official statement said. A total of 94,000 packets of foreign cigarettes lacking the mandatory health warnings and MRP as required under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) were seized during the raid. The arrested individuals have been identified as Parikshit (22), the owner of the godown and a resident of Vasant Kunj, and PP Chengappa (40), a resident of Kodagu district in Karnataka, the release added. Acting on specific intelligence, the police team raided a basement godown located in a house in Nangal Dewat, Vasant Kunj on June 27. The operation was part of a larger campaign being carried out in the South-West District to curb the supply of illicit liquor and tobacco products in Delhi. According to police, the recovered cigarettes were intended for distribution across Delhi-NCR and parts of South India. During interrogation, the accused confessed to importing these products from foreign countries, including Greece and Dubai. The police recovered a total of 94,000 packets of foreign-made cigarettes from the basement godown. These included 13,000 packets of L&B Original Silver packed in 13 cartons, 5,000 packets of King Size Mayfair in 5 cartons, 50,000 packets of Richmond King Size Real Blue stored in 50 cartons, and 26,000 packets of Richmond King Size packed in 26 cartons. None of the packets carried the mandatory health warnings or Maximum Retail Price (MRP) markings as prescribed under the COTPA Act. Following the seizure, a case has been registered at Vasant Kunj South Police Station under FIR No. 276/25, invoking Sections 7, 14, and 20(2) of the COTPA Act. Both accused have been taken into custody. (ANI)
India Today
11 minutes ago
- India Today
Five police officers sent to judicial custody in Tamil Nadu custodial death
Five Tamil Nadu police officers were arrested and sent to judicial custody until July 15 in connection with the alleged custodial death of 27-year-old Ajith Kumar, a temple security guard from Sivagangai district. The case has since been transferred to the Crime Branch Criminal Investigation the incident, the Superintendent of Police for Sivagangai, IPS Ashish Rawat, has been transferred. He has been replaced by IPS G Chandeesh, who currently serves as the Superintendent of Police for Kumar was taken into custody for questioning in a jewellery theft case on June 27 and was found dead a day later. According to Ajith Kumar's brother, he died due to police brutality, while Opposition leaders, too, condemned the alleged custodial death and demanded the arrest of those responsible. According to the First Information Report (FIR), accessed by India Today, Head Constable Kannan stated that the Inspector of Thiruppuvanam and the Deputy Superintendent of Police had instructed officers to extract a clear account from Ajith regarding the stolen jewellery. The report claims Ajith initially named several people before allegedly confessing to the theft and leading police to a cowshed where he said the items were further notes that, during the search, Ajith Kumar supposedly attempted to flee while removing an asbestos sheet, slipped, and fell. Head Constable Kannan claimed that he then left the location with other suspects to hand them over to their families, leaving Ajith in the custody of four other officers — Prabhu, Anand, Raja, and Sankaramanikandan. Later, Kannan reportedly received a call saying Ajith had suffered an epileptic episode while trying to escape again and had been taken to Thiruppuvanam Hospital. He was subsequently referred to Sivagangai Government Hospital, where he was declared brought dead at approximately 11.45 am on June autopsy report has since cast significant doubt on the police account. It lists at least 18 injuries on Ajith Kumar's body, including wounds on his elbows, ankles, cheeks, hips, and ribs, along with dried blood on both ears and signs of blunt force trauma. The injuries span from head to toe, prompting allegations of custodial response, a case is being filed before the Madras High Court's Madurai Bench on behalf of actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party, seeking a court-monitored investigation into Ajith Kumar's death. The petition calls for the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to ensure impartiality and of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami has condemned the incident, calling it a 'murder committed by the police under Stalin's government'. Referring to the autopsy report, he said, 'The injuries from head to legs are shocking. It is being said that he died due to the pressure exerted on the neck.' He criticised the authorities for attributing Ajith's death to an epileptic seizure, drawing parallels with the earlier custodial death of a man named Vignesh, and demanded that the Chief Minister called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry and added that all 25 custodial deaths reported under the current administration amount to a breach of human rights. He urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to initiate a suo motu state president Nainar Nagendran also wrote to the NHRC, seeking an independent inquiry into the case. - Ends IN THIS STORY#Tamil Nadu
