Amid the controversy over who was responsible for devotees touching the deities at the Snan Mandap in Puri on Monday night, Puri Superintendent of Police (SP) Sarthak Sarangi on Thursday said the police administration was not responsible for the devotees defying the instructions not to touch the deities.
“As per the administrative decision, it was decided to keep the police force arrangement till the end of Sahana Mela. But the devotees touched the deities between the completion of Sahana Mela and the beginning of Pahandi Bije. The police were not at fault for this incident.”
Sarangi said the devotees must have sneaked in along with family members of servitors to the Snan Mandap to touch lord Jagannath and His siblings.
“Now, it is up to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and the servitors to act. We have nothing to do with it. We had not allowed a single person into the temple till the end of the Sahana Mela,” said the SP.
Meanwhile, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati and Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb have expressed their utter unhappiness over devotees touching the deities despite prohibition.