A police inspector has landed in trouble for alleged lapses in crowd management at the Devarajaswamy shrine here with Kancheepuram Collector P Ponniah purportedly threatening to suspend him and the video of the incident going viral.
In the footage, the district collector, overseeing arrangements at the temple for darshan of Lord Athivaradar, is purportedly heard asking the inspector what kind of checks he had done before allowing people into the VIP queue.
The inspector, deployed on duty near the west gopuram (tower) side of the temple, could be heard murmuring that he allowed people after checking the passes.
However, the collector is purportedly heard warning him that he would be suspended and seeking the number of the Inspector General of Police from his assistants.
He also could be heard saying there were lot of devotees still waiting.
When the official asks the inspector to which police station he was attached he replies that he was from Tiruvallur and also says "sorry."
The collector was unvailable for comment.
The Athivaradar idol is taken out from under the water in the temple tank once in 40 years.
The Devarajaswamy shrine has been attracting lakhs of devotees eager to have a glimpse of the idol everyday leading to heavy rush and congestion in the town giving a tough time to police personnel and officials.
Since July 1, an estimated 80 lakh devotees have had darshan of the Lord.
The festival is scheduled to end on August 16.
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