KalingaTV News Network
Bhadrak: Tension gripped Mato village under Chandbali Tehsil in the district on Wednesday after a local youth tried to organise a tantric puja and yajna inside the Maa Ishana Chandi Temple, the presiding deity of the village. The tension was diffused only after Chandbali Police rushed to the spot and intervened.
The incident took place in the morning today after the accused Ranjan Kumar Dash of Mato village reached the temple with a priest and started preparations for a tantric yajna and puja. Some villagers, who spotted Ranjan with some objectionable items used specifically in tantric puja, first protested it and then brought the matter to the notice of the temple authorities. As the priests present at the temple prevented Ranjan from holding the yajna, a heated argument erupted between the two sides and continued for quite some time. As the news spread in the village, hundreds of locals reached the temple and tried to evict the accused duo from the temple.
On getting information on the incident, Mato Police Station IIC Gouranga Aich reached the spot later in the morning but failed to catch the accused as they managed to give them a slip.
“There is no prevailing tradition in the Ishani Chandi Temple allowing tantric puja inside its premise. Some people are trying to destroy the sanctity of the temple by holding such type of pujas and yajnas,” said a villager. “The alleged that Ranjan and the priest accompanying him first mixed up non-veg food items and the khechudi bhoga of the deity and reached the temple after consuming them, which is strictly prohibited here,” he added.
However, the Mato IIC said, the accused duo had sacrificed fish outside the temple and consumed it after cooking it there. As they had entered the temple after consuming non-vegetarian item, people protested against him. He refuted the allegation of tantric puja and said the matter would be discussed before a 40-member temple committee during a meeting scheduled for Thursday to reach an amicable solution.
Ms Kalinga