Director General of Police Prakash Mishra on Tuesday ruled out any specific terror threat during the next month’s Rath Yatra at Puri.
Emerging after a meeting of top cops here discussing about the security, law and order and traffic arrangements for the June 29 Rath Yatra, Mishra asserted that the State police are capable enough to meet any challenges to ensure a peaceful festival at the temple town.
“There are no such specific intelligence inputs about any threat perception looming over the next month’s Rath Yatra at Puri,” Mishra said, reassuring that adequate and foolproof security arrangements would be in place to ensure that the nine-day festival at Puri ends without any untoward incident.
Senior officers from the State police headquarters here along with top cops of the range and district attended the first preparatory meeting on security for the Rath Yatra.
The meeting assumed importance against the backdrop of the recent media reports that the 12th-century shrine at Puri is under the scanner of terrorists.
When contacted, Special DGP Sanjeev Marik told this correspondent that the Tuesday’s meeting was a routine exercise held every year about a month before the festival to take stock of the situation.
“Apart from security, traffic and law and order, the State police also make a lot of logistic arrangements for the Rath Yatra and all these were discussed threadbare in the meeting,” Marik said, adding that he was unaware of any specific terror threat or any special intelligence inputs regarding it.
A video clipping showing aerial views of the temple that was circulated in social media last month had actually triggered discussions that the temple town of Puri is under terror threat.
Even seeking judicial intervention to such sensitive security concern, a public-spirited lawyer too had filed a PIl in the Odisha High Court last month.
Taking up the petition, the High Court has issued notices to the respondents, including the State Government, to file counters to the petition.