The Orissa High Court on Thursday refused to grant anticipatory bails to all the errant servitors of the Jagannath Temple who were declared as “absconders” by the Puri police after they were booked for their alleged involvement in assaulting journalists, threatening the district Collector and misbehaving with a woman police officer during the Niladri Bije rituals of the deities in July.
Deciding on merit after prolonged hearing Justice SK Mishra refused to grant relief to Damodar Mahasuar, Jayakrushna Mahasuar and Saina Khuntia when the Government counsel argued that the absconding accused persons should not be granted bail at this stage.
Unable to trace the accused, the police have already started legal procedures to attach their properties after proclaiming them as absconders and pasting their photographs in public, the Government counsel pointed out. The Puri police earlier this month had declared eight accused servitors as absconders. While all of them had approached the High Court seeking advance bails, four withdrew their petitions last week after the court had refused to grant anticipatory bail to one Bhimsen Palankadhari.
It may be mentioned that the police had booked at least 20 servitors in all the three cases registered and had arrested 12 of them.