Odi govt admits delay in ritual, to verify use of cellphones

Odisha government today admitted delay in the centuries-old 'Brahma Paribartan' ritual of Lord Jagannath and said it would verify allegations of use of mobile phones to record the 'secret' ceremony.
"Yes, there has been delay but no violation in the ritual during Brahma Paribartan. The delay was made in the conduct of the soul transfer of the Lord from old idols to the new ones," Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), said.
Mohapatra, a senior IAS officer, earlier met Odisha Law Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo at the state secretariat.
He said stringent action would be taken against the persons found responsible for the delay in the conduct of Brahma Paribartan, which was scheduled to be held on June 15 midnight but was conducted during the day time on June 16.

Rejecting allegations that about 80 Daitapati priests (servitors) had taken mobile phones along with them to the 12th century shrine while going to conduct the secret ritual, Mohapatra said, "I have information regarding one or two persons carrying mobile phones along with them. We will verify whether they used the mobiles to record the secret rituals."
Mohapatra, however, did not rule out state Congress leaders allegation that Lord Jagannth's secret rituals went viral in certain social media. "We will verify it from different angles," he said.

The SJTA chief administrator said servitors including the four Badagrahis (idol protectors), who were served with notices, will start giving their statements from tomorrow.

"Their statements will be recorded and kept secret," he said, adding, open notice will also be served and any Daitapati servitor wishing to record his statement on what exactly had happened during Brahma Paribartan could do so in person or in writing.
"Their testimonies will be kept secret," he said, adding that he would himself record the statements of the Daitapati priests and others.