Uttarakhand: Seers in Mahakumbh beat up official over lousy arrangements

DEHRADUN: Seers in Mahakumbh on Thursday late evening allegedly beat up an official in charge of the religious event over lousy arrangements.

Officials of the mela area told TNIE that senior officials including inspector general Sanjay Gunjyal and others rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.

An official said on the condition of anonymity, "The seers from Nirmohi Akhada beat up the officer over bad arrangements in the Mahakumbh. They also roughed up the police personnel who accompanied him."

The officer in question is Harveer Singh who has held positions of sub-divisional magistrate and additional district magistrate in many districts including Dehradun, Haridwar, and Nainital among others in the state.

The officials of the district administration told that the seers were angry over allotment of area and various other issues including lackluster infrastructure. 

Singh was on a routine round of the mela area to check if anything is amiss or out of place. After he reached 'Bairagi Camp' of Akhil Bhartiya Nirmohi Ani Akhada, seers told him that the power supply in the camp is erratic and they face hours of power cut.

Following this, the official was allegedly attacked by the seers. The security personnel who tried to intervene and protect him were also allegedly roughed up.