Bhubaneswar, July 23: A delegation of servitors of the Jagannath temple today met Puri district collector Aravind Agrawal and requested him not to harass those who were not responsible for the attack on him on niladri bije.

The servitors met the collector after the district administration hardened its stand on the attackers and started taking action against the servitors who had misbehaved with the district collector during niladri bije on July 17, the day when the Trinity returned to the temple from the chariots.

Servitor Binayak Das Mohapatra said: "We have expressed our regret over the incident. We urged him not to take action against those servitors who are not involved in the incident. There were many servitors who were present there either to perform their duties or as a spectators only. They should not be treated as accused. The police should refrain from taking action against them."

Another servitor, Rabi Narayan Pratihari, said: "We had a cordial meeting with the collector and raised the point that steps should be taken to restore peace in the town."

Pratihari blamed the temple administration for the July 17 attack on Agrawal. "On July 8, a servitor had taken a girl up on the chariot. The temple administration did not react to the incident. When Damodar Mahasuar issued a notice that he would take his family members to the chariot, the temple administration did not react. Had they been stopped before climbing, things would have been different. Such an ugly incident could have been avoided," he said.

Pratihari said the servitors would meet again tomorrow to decide on what could be done to resolve the impasse. "If the administration does not budge from its stand and continues to be vindictive, our members will have no option but to quit the temple management committee," he said.

Puri police, however, said it would go ahead with its plan to arrest the accused involved in the attack on the collector. Police superintendent Sarthak Sarangi vowed not to spare the guilty under any circumstances. "We will not succumb to any pressure tactics," he said.

"According to the FIR of the district collector, we have applied for search warrants against those named in the FIR. Once the court grants the warrant petition, we can nab them any moment. We will go for attachment of their properties," said Sarangi, warning people not to give shelter to the accused servitors.

The police have identified 15 servitors as the main culprits who were allegedly involved in creating the disturbance on July 17. Of them, eight have been held so far.

In another development, three servitors - Damodar Mahasuar, Jayakrushna Mahasuar and Hari Narayan Khuntia - have already approached Orissa high court for anticipatory bail.