Following a 12-hour bandh call on Wednesday, the pilgrim city of Puri witnessed colossus violence with arson, burning, hurling of stones, besides damage to public and private properties, turning the holy Badadanda (Grand Road) to a bloody battlefield.
It was really fire and devastation along the Badadanda that went on from morning till 2 pm, which was unprecedented according to the local people.
The locals said expression of such anguish has never happened in the past over a silly matter of one- way entry to the Jagannath temple. In the incident, more than 50 people, including police, were injured.
The incident took an ugly turn on Wednesday morning as the queue for devotees in the Shreemandir was in place for the third consecutive day. Fumed servitors and bandh supporters suddenly gathered near the Lions Gate and started breaking the barricades with sticks on hands.
They set the roof tops of barricades near the Lions Gate on fire, broke the information centre and barged into the temple outpost, manhandling the cops on duty. The mob dismantled all the iron barricades in and outside the temple after uprooting sensors near the Lions Gate.
This apart, they set on fire half a dozen mobile stands and cabins on the Grand Road. They attacked the police personnel of the outpost and damaged glass window, chairs and tables. The mob even did not spare the Singhadwara police station. In the attack, many officials of the police station sustained injuries with some escaping to save life.
Rushing into the office of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the bandha supporters went on smashing things that came their way.
Even the Town Police station was not left out of attack. Around 15 police were injured in the attack. A group called to be the bandh supporters also damaged the Puri residence of Minister Maheswar Mohanty after barging into it.
After a patient restraint, when Puri police came onto action mode, all was near an over. The police made a flag march on the Grand Road by clamping Section 144 to restore peace. In the evening, IG Central Saumendra Priyadarshi, Collector Jyoti Prakash Das and SP Sarthak Sarangi convened a peace committee meeting.