Bhubaneswar, May 20: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has suspended servitor Kishan Mekap, also known as Narayan Mekap, from all seva and puja duties until further orders following an alleged physical altercation inside the Ratna Bhandar of the Jagannath Temple during the ongoing inventory-related process.
According to sources, tension erupted inside the temple treasury chamber after a heated argument broke out between Kishan Mekap and his uncle regarding entry into the Ratna Bhandar. The verbal exchange reportedly escalated into a physical scuffle inside the ‘Bhandar Ghara’, creating a brief commotion during the sensitive inventory proceedings being carried out under administrative supervision.
Temple officials and administrative personnel present at the spot immediately intervened and managed to bring the situation under control before it could escalate further.
Following the incident, the Chief Administrator of SJTA issued an order suspending Kishan Mekap from all ritual and service-related duties associated with the temple till further directions.
The Chief Administrator clarified that the altercation stemmed from personal reasons between the two individuals and had no connection with the official inventory process. He further stated that the counting and documentation work inside the Ratna Bhandar continued smoothly and was not disrupted due to the incident.
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