Finance
In a tragic occurrence, three devotees, including two ladies, were killed in a stampede on Saradhabali near Sri Gundicha temple in Puri at around 4:00 a.m. on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as Basanti Sahu (36) of Bolagarh, Nayagarh, Premakant Mohanty of Bhubaneswar, and Pravati Das of Balipatna, Khurdha.
The terrible incident occurred when a large gathering of devotees arrived for darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings on chariots after the ‘Pahuda’ opened at 4 a.m.
According to eyewitnesses, a truck loaded with Charamala wood suddenly entered the throng, causing a rush. The chaos resulted in over 50 devotees being injured when more than 500 devotees were sitting on plastic mats at the time of the incident.
Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan expressed outrage at the incident and stated that a full inquiry will be conducted, with appropriate action taken. The Chief Minister has been informed of the situation.
Meanwhile, DGP YB Khurania asked senior police personnel to go to the scene and assess the situation. Khurania also visited Puri this morning and personally assessed the situation.
