At least three devotees died and several others were injured in a stampede near the Gundicha temple (Temple of Lord Jagannath’s aunt) in Puri during wee hours on Sunday, police said.
The mishap took place at around 4.20 am in front of three chariots of Lord Jagannath and His siblings—Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
Apparently, poor crowd management and inadequate police deployment resulted in the tragic mishap.
There was no presence of police or security forces anywhere near the chariots as the crowd surged to catch a glimpse of the deities during the morning hours. It was some local youths who tried to control the crowd and saved several people from getting stuck in the stampede. But for their timely voluntary act, the death toll might have been much higher, said eyewitnesses.