Click to play videoBhubaneswar: Lord Jagannath temple in Puri is one of the most sacred pilgrimage spots for the Hindus.
Millions throng the 12th century temple every year to get a glimpse of the Lord, but something seems to be wrong with the Lord's servants or sevayats.
Essentially meant to serve as guides, most of the sevayats are apparently serving themselves more often than the pilgrims.
In the past year there have been 22 criminal cases, including snatching and molestation, committed inside the temple. With mostly pilgrims being the targets, one-third of these cases involve sevayats.
“If they continue to thieve in such a sacred place, it will become difficult for us to pay a visit to the temple," says a devotee, Ashok Sharma.
In the latest case, a 35-year-old sevayat Jagannath Khuntia, was arrested by the temple police on January 21, for trying to snatch a necklace off a pilgrim.
But as his brother reveals, there are more Khuntias in the making.
"He is a drug addict and for this we removed him from our house. The problem of drug addiction is quite rampant. The Police is doing nothing about it," says Khuntia’s brother, Harihar Khuntia.
While the temple police keep mum over the drug issue, they say there has been an initiative to reform the sevayats.
“We have planned a visit for them to other temples in the country, to help them learn their system of working. There are some other initiatives as well," says DIG of Bhubaneswar Range, Y B Khurania.
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