Puri, April 6: Yet in another incident of barbarism of a handful servitors, a woman TV Journalist was manhandled by a group of sevayats before the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on Sunday.
The offenders allegedly assaulted the woman scribe, her camera person and dared to snatch their camera and assessories in presence of cops.
The victim girl, identified as Linu Nayak, associated with a private news channel, was rescued by the onlooker scibes and rushed to the hospital for treatment.
According to reports, Linu, accompanied by her video journalist, was covering the Ram Navami rituals, held in the Shree Jagannath Temple in the morning. She was engaged in linking up the visuals to the office while the camera person Shiba Prasad Palei was taking shots of the palanquin that was taken out taking idols of Lord Ram onboard. Meanwhile, a group of servitors who were reportedly waiting at the Patitapaban Gate, to lure the devotees, resisted the camera person to take visuals. As he still continued with capturing the scene, the servitors turned red, attacked the camera person and seized the camera & assessories forcefully from him.
On being aware of it, the lady journalist interfered into the matter,who also faced the wrath of the servitors. Following an oral duel centering the issue, an unscrupulous servitor dragged her to a few meters on the Grand Road and hit her violently on her head and chest in public view. As a result, she sustained grievous injuries and was shifted to hospital by the fellow journalists, for treatment.
Aggrieved on the incident, scribes raised protest before the DPO and sought legal action agaist the offenders.
Later, the victim lodged a complaint with the Shingha Dwara Police in this connection.
Responding to the sribes’ protest, Puri SP Vineet Agrawal said, “A case has been registered on the basis of the complaint and an investigation is ordered.”
Stern action will be initiated against the accused persons after the prima facie evidence, the SP added.
Worth mentioning, a special training session for the servitors encapusulating moral guidelines, how to cordially deal with visitors and devotees, was concluded on Saturday.
Mass attack on a scribe, a day after the training, proved the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration’s holistic effort to ensuring a joyous darshan for a common public, a futile venture.
