Trespassers enter Puri Jagannath temple by climbing up boundary wall

Unidentified people scaled the Meghanada Prachir (compound wall) of the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri to trespass into the holy shrine, exposing gaping holes in security mechanisms at the protected place of worship.

As the videos of the trespassers climbing up the southern side of the temple compound wall to make their way into the shrine with consummate ease went viral, it left the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and Puri district administration red faced given the fact that there was massive deployment of security forces and police in view of Rath Yatra festival.

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The act of trespass reportedly occurred yesterday. The tall claims of the Government of installation of AI-powered camera for the 24×7 surveillance at the revered shrine notwithstanding, intruders made mockery of the system to gain unhindered access into the temple. Incidentally, the temple of Jagannath, the presiding deity of Odisha, faces threat perception and is conferred a high-security zone on the basis of periodic intelligence reports.

But the scaling of the meghanada prachir by unidentified persons has laid bare the abysmal lack of security setup and exposed the temple to vulnerability of subversive activity.

The identity of the intruders is yet to be established. We are verifying the video footage and AI cameras to further the investigation into the highly sensitive matter. The intruders appear to be in the mid-twenties. They may be devotees who undertook adventure to trespass into the temple taking advantage of absence of police presence at the particular spot, confided a senior police official.

Meanwhile, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has constituted a probe committee to look into all possible angles of lapses that led the intruders to trespass. Police are also conducting a separate investigation into it.

“It’s a serious security lapse, which was uncalled for. It has perturbed everybody right from the devotees to the administrators. We have taken the matter in all seriousness. Apart from probing into the lapse, the administration will try its level best to ensure that such incident does not recur in future”, said District Magistrate and Collector, Puri, Chanchal Rana.

It may be recalled here that the previous BJD Government had implemented Shree Mandir Parikrama Project (SMPP) to ensure the safety and security of the holy shrine.

The bulldozing of the permanent structures within 75 metre radius of the Meghanada Pacheri (compound wall) of the 12th century temple was carried out in pursuant to ruling by a committee headed by retired judge of Orissa High Court BP Das.

Justice BP Das Commission had emphasized safety and security of pilgrims at Puri’s Jagannath temple and had recommended demolition of all structures within 75-metre radius of the temple.