The death toll in the incident that happened at the ‘Chapa Khela’ event of the Trinity at Narendra pond as part of the Chandan Yatra celebrations has mounted to eight on Saturday, June 1, after two more persons undergoing treatment succumbed to their injuries.
The explosion that occurred on Wednesday night during Lord Jagannath’s Chandan Yatra injured at least 30 people. Of them, 22 are receiving treatment at various hospitals in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, while eight have already passed away, as per an official from the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) office.
The official further stated, “Two more people succumbed to their injuries in hospitals, while 22 others are undergoing treatment,” he said, adding a few more people are in a critical condition.
Ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh
In addition to announcing an ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh to each of the deceased person’s surviving relatives, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered an investigation into the incident.
According to the official, the Puri collector has already started the process of paying the deceased’s next of kin Rs 4 lakh apiece in ex-gratia assistance.
Satyabrata Sahu, the SRC and additional chief secretary of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, has opened an investigation into the event. Puri Police, meantime, reported that an investigation is now in progress and that a suo motu criminal case has been filed.
(with PTI inputs)