PURI: The head ofJagannath Temple Police (JTP) was allegedly assaulted by an Odisha Police personnel over entry of devotees on Sunday, leading to the temporary closure of the Jai Bijay Dwar of Srimandir, disrupting darshan for nearly an hour.
The incident followed a scuffle between the police personnel stationed at Shree Jagannath Temple, known as the Srimandir Surakshya Bahini, and the JTP, the traditional security force of the 12th century shrine. The altercation reportedly broke out at Satapahacha over the regulation of queue darshan, sources said.
As per the New Year darshan protocol, a seven-lane barricaded queue system had been prescribed at the Satapahacha entry to the temple’s main tower. However, the JTP commander reportedly noticed that the Srimandir Surakshya Bahini had restricted entry to just one lane. When he objected and asked for the remaining six lanes to be opened, a heated exchange followed.
Sources said the JTP commander was reportedly harassed during the altercation, triggering anger among JTP personnel and temple servitors. In protest, they closed the Jai Bijay Dwar, resulting in suspension of darshan for about an hour.
Puri district collector Dibyajyoti Parida and temple administration officials rushed to the spot and facilitated the resumption of darshan. Sources said there is simmering discontent between the two security wings operating within the temple.
To prevent recurrence of such incidents, chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Arabinda Padhee, the collector, and senior police officials are expected to hold discussions soon to clearly demarcate the roles and powers of the respective security forces within the Srimandir.
While repeated attempts to contact the collector and the SJTA chief administrator went in vain, IIC of Singhadwar police station Swetapadma Dash said no FIR has been filed so far in connection with incident.