Puri: At the end of the nine-day ritual sojourn to Gundicha temple, the three sibling deities of Srimandir – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra – returned to the Jagannath temple in their respective chariots after Pahandi Monday evening. Lakhs of devotees, from across the country and abroad, thronged the coastal city to witness the return festival, called Bahuda Yatra, organised amid multi-layered tight security arrangements by the administration. Amid complaints of police highhandedness during the yatra, a medical student is reported to have slapped a security guard who she alleged had molested her. Although Puri superintendent of Sarthak Sarangi has denied that there was any complaint in this connection, the incident was doing rounds on the social media. Earlier, Puri Gajapati King Divya Singha Deb performed the ‘Chhera Pahanra’ with a golden broom and offered prayers to the deities on the chariots which were pulled by the devotees on the Grand Road up to Sri Jagannath temple’s Lion’s gate. The chariots are expected to be stationed in front of the temple till July 6. The deities are expected to reenter the Jagannath temple and again be placed on the ‘‘Ratna Simhasana’’, the bejewelled throne, following a ceremony called ‘‘Neeladri Bije’’. Ahead of ‘‘Neeladri Bije’, the deities would be decorated with ‘‘suna besha’’ or golden attire Tuesday on their chariots, which traditionally attract a large number of devotees from all over.
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