Puri
There was a stir in Puri, Odisha on Wednesday when a terrorist attack was found to be written on the walls near the Jagannath temple. This warning written around this famous temple of 12th century was in Odia and English languages. The threat was found written on the wall of another small temple located near the temple, which is near the Heritage Corridor (Parikrama Marg).
It was written in the message – “Terrorists will Attack and Destroy the Jagannath Temple” i.e. “terrorists will attack Jagannath temple and destroy it.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also mentioned in a threatening message and was instructed to make ‘call’ by writing some mobile numbers. Local people immediately erased these messages, but before this information spread throughout the city and there was an atmosphere of fear among the people.
Along with the threats, many decorative lights in the heritage corridor were damaged. This area is constantly under CCTV surveillance and police patrolling. Since this incident, serious questions have arisen on security arrangements.
The temple Sevayat Shyama Mohapatra said, “The temple and the area around it are very sensitive. Despite this, mischievous elements showed courage to write threatening here. It is a failure of police and security.”
Local devotee Renubala Tripathi said, “Recently some unknown people had entered the outer wall of the temple. They have not been caught till date. Now threatened messages have been written again. It is very worrying.”
The police have started investigating the case and are reviewing the CCTV footage installed nearby. Officials believe that it can also be someone’s mischief or joke, but they are not taking it lightly. A senior police officer said, “We are taking the matter very seriously. Security of temples and devotees is our top priority.”
