By Biozodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, June 29, 2025: Three devotees, including two women, were killed, and at least 50 were injured in a stampede near the chariots carrying deities during the ongoing Rath Yatra in Puri, in the wee hours of Sunday. Only two days back, more than 500 devotees were injured after massive crowds surged forward to pull the chariot of Lord Balabhadra.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced that ₹25 lakh would be paid to the kin of each of the deceased devotees as ex-gratia assistance. Apologising to devotees for the incident, he ordered a high-level administrative inquiry into the tragedy, to be headed by the State’s Development Commissioner, and took punitive action against local authorities.

The incident took place near the Gundicha temple, as thousands of devotees tried to reach the chariots for a glimpse of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. After darshan was temporarily paused for a ritual, devotees surged forward as it resumed, triggering the stampede.

Citing dereliction of duty, District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and Superintendent of Police Vinit Agrawal were shunted out of the Puri district. Two senior police officers were placed under suspension.

Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik lambasted the Mohan Majhi-led government following the incident, saying that it exposed the government’s glaring incompetence in ensuring a peaceful festival for devotees.

The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president demanded a time-bound judicial probe into the incident. “I am deeply pained by the stampede during the Mahaprabhu Jagannath Rath Yatra, which claimed three lives and injured at least 50 people. This tragedy follows reports of 500 devotees being injured on Friday during the yatra. The negligence and mismanagement that led to this tragedy are inexcusable,” said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

Every year, the coastal town of Puri in Odisha comes alive with the Rath Yatra, a centuries-old festival of Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities, who are installed in majestic wooden chariots, and ceremonially pulled by devotees from the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple, which is considered the abode of Lord Jagannath’s aunt.