Puri: As many as 48 people, including servitors of the Jagannath Temple, Thursday recorded their statements at a public hearing into the June 29 stampede in Puri that left three dead and over 50 injured, officials said.
The hearing was part of the ongoing administrative inquiry being conducted by Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Anu Garg.
This was the second public hearing, following the first held in Bhubaneswar Wednesday.
In total, 65 people and organisations have recorded statements so far.
“I was present at the stampede site on the day of occurrence and recorded my statement before the development commissioner. I informed how the crowd of devotees rushed towards chariots as soon as the ‘Pahuda’ (cloth covering the front portion of charuit) was removed for ‘Mangal Aarti’ (early morning Aarti),” said Anath Dasmohapatra, a servitor.
Another servitor, Binayak Dasmohapatra, described the chaos: “Devotees were sitting on a polythene sheet before the Pahuda was opened. When it was removed, people rushed forward and fell, leading to the stampede.”
Garg was given responsibility of the inquiry by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on the day of the stampede. She is mandated to submit report with the government in 30 days.
PTI
