Mangaluru: Puttur town police have registered a case against Puttur Mahaligheshwara Temple committee office-bearers for allegedly demolishing a private building on the main road in Puttur.Police said a case has been registered against Eshwar Bhat Panjigudde and others based on a complaint filed by Dr Aravind Rao Kedige, a resident of Kadri Hills, Mangaluru. A complaint was filed on April 17 stating that Bhat and others, who are office-bearers of a temple, illegally entered the complainant’s old building and land on the night of April 14 and demolished it. A case has been registered at the Puttur town police station under Sections 329(3), 324(2) along with 3(5) of the BNS, and an investigation is under way, police said.Meanwhile, Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai, who is closely associated with the temple, said that the old building was demolished for the convenience of devotees, who come to the temple for the annual festival.“It is an annual ritual that deities—Ullalthi and Mahalingeshwara—meet during festivals. The road where the meeting ritual takes place was very narrow. There is a court order to vacate an old building located near the road. However, the authorities concerned failed to vacate the same. We have been requesting all to vacate the old building as the festival witnessed footfall of nearly 30,000 to 40,000 devotees. It is our responsibility to provide all facilities for devotees, who come in large numbers,” the MLA said, recalling the Bengaluru cricket stampede tragedy.
