Puri: Atleast three persons, including two women, were killed and around 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha temple in Puri on Sunday morning during a ceremony related to the ongoing Rath Yatra festivities. The incident took place around 4.20 am when thousands of devotees had gathered near the chariots parked in front of the temple. The injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital, and the condition of six persons is stated to be critical.

The Gundicha temple, located around 3 km from the 12th century shrine, is the aunt’s house of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Subhadra and Balabhadra. During Rath Yatra, the deities visit their aunt’s home, stay there for seven days and then return to their main abode — the Jagannath temple.

According to police, chaos ensued after two trucks carrying materials for rituals reportedly entered the crowded spot near the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities. The deities were seated on the chariots when the stampede took place.

“Thousands of devotees had assembled outside the temple since the early hours to catch a glimpse of the deities when the ‘Pahuda’ (cloth) covering the front portion of the chariots was to be removed, as part of the rituals,” the officials said. The deceased were identified as Basanti Sahu (36) from Bolagarh, and Premakant Mohanty (80) and Pravati Das (42) from Balipatna.

Their bodies have been handed over to family members, and the cremation will take place at ‘Swargadwar’ in Puri. Majhi ordered an administrative inquiry into the incident to be carried out under the supervision of the Development Commissioner. The Odisha government will provide financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.

Earlier, in a post on X, Majhi sought forgiveness from devotees of Lord Jagannath for the stampede, and tendered an apology on behalf of his government for the incident.

“Due to intense eagerness among devotees to have a glimpse of Mahaprabhu... an unfortunate incident occurred because of the resulting jostling and chaos. I and my government seek forgiveness from all Jagannath devotees. We express our condolences to the families of devotees who lost their lives... pray to Mahaprabhu Jagannath to grant them the strength to bear this profound sorrow,” Majhi said. He also said security lapses behind the incident would be probed and those found guilty will face stringent action.

State Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said the situation is now normal at the Shree Gundicha temple, where devotees are offering prayers to the deities. Health department sources said among those critically injured, one has been shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, while five others are in ICU.

The chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra had on Saturday reached Shree Gundicha temple, a day after the Rath Yatra began in Puri. The return car journey, known as ‘Bahuda Yatra’, will held on July 5.