BHUBANESWAR: The death toll in the Puri Rath Yatra mishap has risen to three with the state government on Monday acknowledging the demise of a Mumbai native during chariot-pulling on July 16.
The government had earlier confirmed two fatalities, including a 60-year-old “yet to be identified” man who was stated to have died of suffocation, and one Anil Das of Cuttack who suffered cardiac arrest. The government had attributed both the deaths to sudden crowd surge and not stampede.
The office of the chief minister (CMO) said the third victim Ashok Subare Raikar of Mumbai had fallen ill during the Rath Yatra and succumbed while undergoing treatment at Puri district headquarters hospital on July 16.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, on the day, announced an ex gratia of `10 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) for the next of kin of Das and Raikar. Expressing deep grief over the deaths, the chief minister conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls.
State govt suppressing truth: BJD
Meanwhile, the BJD launched a scathing attack on the BJP government, accusing it of misleading the people by claiming that there was no stampede during the festival. It demanded a judicial probe into the matter to bring out the truth.
Addressing a press conference here, BJD vice-president and former minister Sanjay Das Burma along with spokesperson Lenin Mohanty alleged that Health minister Mukesh Mahaling had lied when he said there was no stampede during the Rath Yatra. The BJD leaders alleged that the state government was making every effort to suppress the incident.
They claimed that four critically injured persons were admitted to Puri district headquarters hospital, of whom three died but the government had concealed facts about the third death.
Alleging gross mismanagement in the conduct of the Rath Yatra for the past two years, the BJD leaders demanded an enquiry into the serious lapses in conduct of the festival. They also sought the release of inquiry reports related to previous Rath Yatras, including the stampede deaths and the incident in which Lord Balabhadra had slipped from the Charamal during the Pahandi procession at Gundicha temple.
The BJD leaders also questioned how the chariots were pulled after sunset despite there being no religious tradition or ritual permitting it. They demanded that the state government should clarify why the established rituals and traditions were not followed.
