Police To Take Jagan On Remand For  Damaging Chulhas  Of Jagannath Temple  Kitchen

Puri, April 6  : Puri Police will take Jagan Mahapatra who had damaged a number of chulhas of Sri Jagannath temple kitchen last Saturday. Jagan was nabbed by a police team from his village at Deuli under the Begunia police limit in Khordha district on Tuesday. Puri Superintendent of Police K Vishjal Singh on Wednesday said Jagan is often changing his statement during interrogation. The Police will take his custody on remand from the court for further examination. He said since his mental balance is doubtful the police team had discussed his health condition with his family members. He will be subjected to undergo a check-up to ascertain his mental health after taking him on remand, the SP said. Senior servitors Madhab Mahapatra and Madhab Pujapanda pointed out many pertinent questions relating to the Saturday night incident. They told the media how Jagan evaded the temple security who after the closing of the sanctum sanctorum door conducted Sodha(driving out all humans from the temple complex) and destroyed a large number of chulhas in the temple kitchen.

Since he is a non-servitor and stranger to temple then how could he enter into the kitchen, they said and questioned why the kitchen door was not locked on that night. There are many questions that remain unanswered, they said. The Police are also probing taking into consideration all possible angles like the involvement of more persons or any conspiracy behind the sabotage to disrupt the cooking of mahaprasad. Puri residents, however, did not believe the story that it is the handiwork of Jagan Mahapatra alone. Ranjit Das a devotee said it is humanly impossible to destroy such a large number of chulhas by a single person using only hands. There is no proof that he had entered the kitchen.

The CCTV footage of nearby locations in the temple complex reflects only his presence inside the temple at that hour. Neither he was running out after committing the crime nor his movement shows any odd behaviour, Das said and alleged that Jagan is being made a scapegoat. After the temple administration lodged a complaint with the Lions gate police station on Monday, the SP formed a five-member team to nab the culprit seen in the CCTV footage. The police rounded the youth on Tuesday near his village and brought him to Puri.

The Police also seized his clothes which he was wearing while present in the temple on Saturday night, the SP Singh said. In the meanwhile, all the damaged chulhas were repaired and reshaped using mortar, sand and molasses. These chulhas will be used for cooking servitors after they are dried up.