Puri: In what would dissuade the tourists and devotees from thronging the Pilgrim city, a devotee was Thursday attacked by a servitor in Srimandir, while a tourist was harassed by the staff of a lodge here.
In the first instance, a Suar servitor allegedly attacked a devotee over Mahaprasad sale at Srimandir Anand Bazar here Thursday. Victim Krushna Chandra Mahakud of Dabana in Keonjhar was admitted to the district headquarters hospital with injuries to his leg. A complaint in this regard has been filed with Singhadwar police.
According to the complaint, Mahakud and seven others, including two minors, visited Srimandir in the afternoon. Mahakud and one of his relatives, Nanda Barik, went to Anand Bazar to purchase Mahaprasad.
A Suar servitor asked the duo to pay Rs 1,000 for providing Mahaprasad for eight people. The servitor slapped Mahakud and pushed him when the latter revealed that he could afford only Rs 400 for the purpose.
“Mahakud fell down on the ground and injured his leg. We immediately informed the incident to a Jagannath Temple Police Service (JTPS) personnel,” claimed Barik.
The incident invited sharp reactions from devotees who demanded stern action against the servitor concerned. “Devotees have a special weakness for Mahaprasad. But, no one has the right to attack a devotee if he expresses his inability to afford it. The incident will create bad impression among the visitors to the 12th century shrine,” said Pravati Sahu, a devotee from Salipur. In the second instance, an Italian tourist Thursday approached the Baliapanda police alleging that he was harassed by the staffers of a lodge here. Police said they have detained the lodge manager and are interrogating him.
“On the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim Florella Bizzarro, we have detained the holiday home manager. Action will be taken accordingly,” Baliapanda inspector in-charge Debasis Mishra said. According to the complaint, Bizzarro had booked a room at the lodging online through Booking.com around five months ago. She had even made an online payment of Rs 2,450 for the same.
However, when she reached the lodge Wednesday, she was surprised to see there was no booking in her name. “The lodge manager claimed they don’t have any transaction with Booking.com and that there was no booking in my name,” Bizzarro said.
However, considering the victim’s plight, the lodge owner arranged a room for her. “When I complained about the power outage in my room Thursday, a lodge staffer assaulted me. On the top of it, instead of helping me, other lodge staffers joined him,” the complainant said.
When asked, the lodge manager, however, rubbished the charges.
PNN