Bhubaneswar: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Friday lodged a police complaint against an unidentified man who allegedly climbed onto goddess Subhadra’s chariot during the recently concluded Rath Yatra in Puri by posing as a servitor.The move followed a viral social media post showing the impostor on the chariot. “We noticed the post on July 29 and urged police to identify the person and initiate action. His act amounts to cheating and impersonation,” said SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee.Though the FIR did not specify the exact date of the intrusion, temple authorities suspect the incident occurred when the chariots were stationary either outside the Gundicha temple after the July 16 Rath Yatra or in front of the Jagannath temple following the Bahuda Yatra on July 24.“It appears he was not present during the pulling of the chariots. The breach likely happened when the chariots were parked,” another SJTA official said.Police said they are examining footage and leads to trace the suspect. “We will ascertain the date of occurrence once the man is identified and traced. The probe will also examine whether any servitor, police personnel or temple staff facilitated his unauthorised access,” an officer of Singhadwar police station said.SJTA’s chief administrator stressed that strict instructions had been issued before the festival warning against impersonation. “Only duty‑bound servitors are permitted on the chariots. We had cautioned that legal action would follow against offenders. In the past too, FIRs were registered against several men who tried to climb by posing as servitors,” Padhee said.SJTA sources said that during this year’s Bahuda Yatra, two other men posing as servitors were caught attempting to climb the chariots in disguise. They were immediately evicted by temple authorities, preventing any breach of ritual protocol. Since they were stopped before committing the offence, no FIR was registered against them.
