Bhubaneswar, Dec. 7: Devotees and servitors today staged a demonstration in front of the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, demanding immediate removal of police barricades inside the shrine as it creates problems in having a smooth darshan.

The sevayats also burnt the effigies of chief temple administrator Suresh Mohapatra.

They alleged that the police personnel manning the barricades were manhandling the devotees and did not even spare the sevayats. "Today again, a police officer manhandled the devotees. He should be immediately arrested," said a servitor.

Trouble erupted when hundreds of devotees turned up to watch the mangla aalati (morning rituals) of the deities. Instead of trying to streamline the darshan, the police started pushing and shoving them. "They even used abusive languages," alleged Ramakanta Behera, a devotee, who works in a private company.

A temple servitor, Damodar Mahasuar, said: "The police and barricades should be removed from inside the temple. They are creating more problems than solving them."

However, the police had a different take on the issue. They said some servitors were deliberately creating all kinds of problems and refusing to follow the rules. An official of Singhadwara police station said a case had been registered against one servitor for indulging in indiscipline today.

In another development, a group of servitors today staged a demonstration, urging the temple administration not to go ahead with its reform plans.

Temple public relation officer Laxmidhar Pujapanda said: "The Justice B.K. Patra Commission, in its report on a stampede in 1997, had listed various steps to improve the temple administration's functioning. One of the recommendations was to abolish the hereditary rights of the various groups of sevayats. The home department has sought the opinions of various stakeholders, and the temple administration has not yet taken any decision regarding this," he said.

Another official said: "The reform would bring about transparency in the performance of rituals in the temple. The hereditary rights should be abolished, and instead, the temple administration should devise a new method to select people from among the servitors to do various rituals."

Senior servitor Jagannath Swain Mohapatra said: "The Shree Jagannath Temple is different from other shrines across India. Here, any attempt to tamper with the traditions will not be tolerated. The temple administration should ensure that the devotees have a proper darshan of the deities."