A devotee died of suffocation during Nabakalebar Bahuda Yatra here on Sunday. Rajkishore Swain, a native of Nayagarh district, fell conscious while performing Sankirtan at the Shree Gundicha temple during the pahandi of the lords.
He was rushed to district headquarters hospital where he died.
Puri Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Gyana Ranjan Sahu told reporters that the patient had been admitted to hospital after he was suffocated. It was found that he had cardiac problems, he added.
It may be mentioned that two women devotees, Sushila Samantaray of Pattamundai in Kendrapada district and Nirmala Baral of Nayagarh, had died in stampede-like situations near Marichikote Square and Hindi Vidyapeeth Square on the Grand Road during pulling of lord Balabhadra's chariot during the Rath Yatra on July 18.