Four Delhi devotees assaulted at Mahakal temple, then booked on guards' complaint

Security personnel at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain assaulted four devotees who had come from Delhi to attend the Bhasma Aarti. The temple committee's core security company then had an FIR registered against the same devotees at Mahakal police station. The incident took place in the early hours of Tuesday, when arrangements suddenly broke down after the barricade was opened.

Pawan Sharma, an ASO of the core security company, has submitted an application at the police station. He told the police that during the Bhasma Aarti the queue for mobile darshan had been arranged inside Triveni Dwar. Meanwhile, flower and prasad sellers opened the barricade placed in front of the Annakshetra, and arrangements began to falter. As the barricade was being lifted back and closed, some devotees broke the designated line and entered. Others who had come with them stayed outside.

According to Sharma, the devotees were being persuaded to join the queue when an altercation broke out. The temple committee's security personnel then filed a case at Mahakal police station against Jatin Goyal, Anuj Goyal, Amar Goyal and Satyam of Delhi, alleging assault. The complaint says the dispute followed the barricade falling and arrangements breaking down.

Clashes between security personnel and devotees at the Mahakal temple continue unabated. A few days ago, a case of misbehaviour by security personnel with Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Ravindra Puri Maharaj had also come to light. That matter had not yet settled when this new incident occurred.

On learning of the incident, BJP councillor Shivendra Tiwari raised questions about the temple's arrangements. He said incidents of assault and disputes with devotees were happening at the temple all the time. He said the security guards were so emboldened that they thought nothing of anyone. According to Tiwari, such incidents had been occurring continuously in the temple premises for the past two years, damaging the image of the Mahakal temple and Ujjain. He also said that large numbers of devotees come here every day, and that earlier disputes with devotees too had ended with the devotees being blamed and FIRs lodged against them.

Tiwari urged Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav to take note of these incidents. He said paramilitary forces should be deployed at the temple and that there were many complaints about contract staff. He also said the Mahakal temple belongs not to any individual, institution, organisation or government and administration, but to the devotees of Lord Mahakal, and that it is everyone's responsibility to ensure devotees are respected and have easy darshan.

The case was registered on the application of the security personnel on behalf of the temple committee. The real cause of the dispute, however, will become clear from the temple's CCTV footage. Managing the barricade was also the responsibility of the temple's security personnel, so why the arrangements were not handled in time is also a matter for investigation. Police have asked the temple committee for CCTV footage of the spot and are examining all aspects.