In a punitive measure following the Puri temple stampede that left three people dead and nearly 50 injured on Sunday, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi ordered the transfer of District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and SP Vineet Agrawal.

Terming the “negligence” leading to the stampede as “unpardonable”, Majhi also announced the suspension of two police officers – DCP Bishnu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padhi – an official release said.

The CM appointed Khurda District Collector Chanchal Rana as the new collector of Puri. Agrawal will be replaced by Pinak Mishra as Puri SP.

Majhi also ordered an administrative inquiry into the matter to be carried out under the supervision of the development commissioner.

The Odisha government will provide financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased, the release added.

Another notification issued by the General Administration Department stated that senior bureaucrat Aravind Agarwal has been appointed as in-charge of the overall supervision of Rath Yatra.

Agarwal has previous experience in managing the Rath Yatra.

He is currently serving as the commissioner-cum-secretary in the Higher Education Department with additional charge of Special Secretary to Sports and Youth Affairs Department, it said.

At least three persons, including two women, were killed and around 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple in Odisha’s Puri on Sunday morning, officials said.

The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, they said.

Chaos ensued after two trucks carrying materials for rituals reportedly entered the crowded spot near the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities.

Devotees in large numbers had assembled outside the temple since the early hours to catch a glimpse of the deities when the ‘Pahuda’ (cloth) covering their faces was to be removed, as part of the rituals, they said.

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