Deoghar, July 27: One unidentified pilgrim died while three others received electric shocks at the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum of lord Baidyanath temple today but the district administration refused to shoulder the blame for the security lapse.

Meanwhile, serial bomb blasts at Ahmedabad and Bangalore have led district administrations in Deoghar and Dumka to beef up security arrangements both in lord Baidyanath and lord Basukinath temples.

Security arrangements were heightened at Deoghar with additional security personnel in plain dress keeping guard.

“We are taking help from a dog squad. We also have a bomb disposal squad,” said a top police officer.

According to him special round-the-clock vigils were being initiated with closed-circuit cameras installed in and around the temples. Special metal detectors had been installed in all the entrance and exit points to the temple, he said.

At 9am this morning an unidentified pilgrim, who was waiting in queue that had spilled on the BEd college campus, fell down after a cardiac attack. Eyewitnesses claimed that due to a heavy rush many pilgrims were feeling suffocated. This might have caused the accident. The victim was rushed to Deoghar Sadar hospital where a doctor declared him dead.

According to local police, some cash and a mobile phone was recovered from the victim hinting that the person might be from Uttar Pradesh.

Another major accident occurred today when some pilgrims came in contact with an electric wire from a loudspeaker in the main entrance to the temple. Loudspeakers had been installed at the entrance door to control the crowd.

“Many of the devotees, eager to enter the sanctum sanctorum, were in a hurry. Some of them touched the naked wire and received a massive shock,” an eyewitness said.

A stampede followed as terrorised devotees started running about. Local administrative officials and police who were deputed inside the temple, however, managed to control the situation though puja was disrupted for nearly one hour due to the incident.

Indrish Yadav of Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Rakesh Kumar of Pagrio village under Sitamarhi district (Bihar) and Ashok Agarwal of Siliguri (Bengal) sustained injuries in the accident.

All the victims were admitted to Deoghar Sadar hospital. While Agarwal was discharged after first aid, Yadav and Kumar received stitches on their heads.

Not a single official concerned, including the Deoghar deputy commissioner and superintendent of police, was available for comments. But the local administration denied responsibility in both cases.

Additional collector N.K. Mishra, who is also the mela magistrate, denied any incident of electrocution.

“We will certainly probe the incident and would rectify security arrangements,” he said.