Srikakulam: Hari Mukund Panda, founder of the Venkateshwara Temple in Kasibugga town, Andhra Pradesh, has said that no one was responsible for the stampede that claimed nine lives and left several others injured. Speaking to The Times of India, Panda described the tragedy as an “act of God”, adding that “nobody is responsible.”
The Andhra Pradesh Police have barred devotees from entering the temple in Srikakulam district. The decision was announced on Sunday. Ninety-five-year-old Hari Mukund Panda, who hails from Odisha, built the temple.
Speaking to news agency PTI Panda said,"There was a massive crowd yesterday, and what happened thereafter we cannot say. We allowed people to have darshan, and the police also helped us. They tried to control the mob. What could we do?"
A case has reportedly been filed against Panda, under various sections related to culpable homicide, for alleged negligence that led to the deaths of the devotees.
The incident took place on Saturday when devotees fell from a six-foot-high wall while trying to escape the crowd after an iron railing inside the temple was damaged. The dead bodies have been shifted to the government hospital in Kasibugga for post-mortem and their identities are being established.
Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu said on Saturday, "If he had informed the police earlier, they could have made arrangements to manage the crowd," Naidu had made the statement blaming the temple authorities for the tragedy. He also assured strict action in the case.
"I built the temple on my private land. Why should I inform the police or administration?" the temple founder said when asked if he had not informed the local administration about the Ekadashi event.
On Ekadashi, around 25,000 devotees gathered at the temple premises to offer prayers. However, due to the presence of a large number of people, the railing installed to manage the crowd got uprooted, causing people to fall.
