Director-General of Police (DGP) Sanjeev Marik has in effect rebutted the report circulated from the Chief Minister's Office on Wednesday that he was reprimanded by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for touching the feet of Daitapati servitors of the Jagannath temple during the deities' Banajaga Yatra while he was in his uniform.
Marik has now categorically told mediapersons at Puri that he did not make any mistake by paying his obeisance to the Daitapatis. He has a longstanding practice of "doing pranam to the Sevayats and Brahmins of the Shreemandir," he asserted.The DGP even went a step further, stating that while on his way to Puri on official visits relating to Rath Yatra, he first goes to the Dakshinakali temple at Biragovindpur and worships the Goddess. And then, he visits the Jagannath temple, worships the deities and do pranam to the servitors and Brahmins there, he said.
Reiterating that he does not commit any wrong by following his religious dictates, Marik regretted the media reports sensationalising them.The DGP being a Government officer obviously avoided referring to the news of the Chief Minister pulling him up for his act, far from questioning the veracity of the report dished out from the CM's office unusually without a formal press release.But now the question is whether the Chief Minister really reprimanded Marik or his office circulated such a story so that he is saved from the myriad controversies over the Government's failure relating to the Nabakalebar Rath Yatra preparations!