(Above) A sevayat helps a devotee onto the rath bypassing queues and (below) police lathicharge on priests to rein in violation. Pictures by Pradip Sanyal

Puri, July 4: At least 30 persons, including 20 sevayats, sustained injuries when police resorted to lathicharge today to control the swelling crowds trying to climb atop “Nandighosh”, the chariot of Lord Jagannath.

The fracas disrupted the rituals for several hours on the chariots that now stand outside the Sri Gundicha temple. Although the rituals resumed in the evening following the suspension of four policemen for their alleged highhandedness, the “pahandibije” or the ritual procession of the deities into the Gundicha temple was likely to be delayed further with the sevayats hell bent on more stringent action against the erring policemen.

The suspended policemen were identified as S.S. Mohapatra, S.K. Jena, B. Jena and S.K. Tripathy, all jawans of the 3rd battalion of Orissa State Armed Police (OSAP).

While the servitors wore black badges in protest, chief minister, Naveen Patnaik expressed concern and said the district administration was looking into the matter.

Chief temple administrator, Pradeepta Kumar Mohaptra said avakash and gopal bhog rituals were performed following the administration’s intervention.

Sources said when the “abkash niti” started around 8am, there was jostling and pushing among the devotees to climb onto the chariots to get a glimpse of Lord Jagannath. Some servitors also helped devotees climb the chariots.

However, the police opposed this leading to an argument. A minor scuffle ensued among the servitors and police. The police then resorted to serious lathicharge.

Senior servitor, Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, said: “I have never seen police using lathi on the rath. I urged the police not to indulge in lathicharge but they refused to listen. Action should be taken against the erring police personnel.”

He added: “The Puri SP has already contacted me over the issue. We will take steps to normalise the entire process of rituals but the action should be condemned.”

The servitors have lodged a complaint with the local Kumbharapada police station. They have also submitted a seven-point charter of demands to the district administration. After pressure was exerted on the district administration to settle the issue, district collector Fakir Charan Satpathy swung into action and went to the temple to meet the representatives of servitors.

Chitta Ranjan Panda, one of the injured servitors, said: “The way the police behaved is unfortunate. They beat us as if we were thieves or picketers. New SP, Amitendranath Sinha’s attitude towards servitors is not good.”