At least 77 police officials have been suspended after they were found absent from their duty at the annual Shravani Mela in Deoghar during a surprise inspection by senior cops, police said on Tuesday. Chief Minister Raghubar Das is set to inaugurate the historic Shravani Mela on Wednesday and the security at the fair has been beefed up to ensure zero lapses.
Out of the suspended officials, at least 10 are Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASIs) and the remaining 67 are constables. A team led by Deoghar’s Superintendent of Police Narendra Kumar Singh conducted the surprise inspection on Monday and issued suspension orders for all the officials found absent from their place of deployment.
“About two days ago we had asked all the security personnel to be present at the place of their deployment for the fair. The ones found absent were suspended with immediate effect,” Singh said.
The Sravani Mela, one of the largest religious fairs celebrated in Eastern India, attracts devotees from across the globe to the Baba Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar. According to figures with the Deoghar District Administration, at least 40 lakh devotees from across the country and even abroad visit the shrine during the Shravani Mela every year.
A majority of these devotees collect holy water from the Ganges at Sultanganj in Bihar and cover a distance of at least 100 Kilometres on foot to pour it on the Baba Badiyanath Jyotirlingam.
