The Odisha government has ordered disciplinary action against seven police officers and recommended blacklisting a private technology firm following an inquiry into the stampede in which three people were killed and 20 were injured during the Rath Yatra in Puri on June 29, official sources said on Saturday.
In a letter to the DGP recently, the additional secretary in the Home department stated that the action to be taken as per the recommendation of the inquiry conducted by Development Commissioner cum Additional Chief Secretary Anu Garg on the stampede incident near Shree Gundicha Temple, during Rath Yatra in Puri earlier on June 29 this year.
On July 31, Garg had submitted her report to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who is also in charge of the Home department.
At least three people, including two women, were killed and 20 others injured in the stampede that took place at around 4 am on June 29, in front of the chariots near the Shree Gundicha temple, as two trucks carrying some wood for rituals entered the area.
In the letter to the DGP, the Home department instructed that action be initiated against police officers, including Ajay Kumar Padhi, Commandant, OSAP 3rd Battalion, Koraput; Vishnu Prasad Pati, DCP (HQ), Bhubaneswar-Cuttack; Tapas Ranjan Das, Commandant, SSMSV, Puri; K K Nayak, Deputy Commandant, SSMSV, Puri; Prasanta Kumar Sahoo, DSP City, Puri; Susanta Kumar Sahoo, IIC, Kumbharapada Police Station and Sarada Prasad Dash, Commandant, OSAP 8th Battalion, Chhatrapur, after they found responsible for negligence and dereliction of duty
The inquiry found two senior-most officers responsible for crowd management near the chariots, Ajay Kumar Padhi and Vishnu Prasad Pati, were absent from the spot when the stampede occurred near the Shree Gundicha Temple. They were supposed to manage the crowd near the chariots, the probe report said.
The report added that their negligence and dereliction of duty are confirmed in the inquiry.
While they have already been placed under suspension, it is recommended that disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against them, the Home department letter to the DGP said.
The inquiry also noted “serious deficiencies” in the AI-based surveillance and crowd monitoring system installed under the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Puri.
Only 123 of the 275 sanctioned cameras were operational, leaving critical zones unsupervised. The report recommended blacklisting the ICCC vendor and disciplinary action against an officer.
Immediately after the stampede on June 29, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had transferred the then Puri District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain, SP V Agrawal.
