In a shocking and an extremely embarrassing incident, President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind were ‘misbehaved with’ during their trip to Jagannath Temple in Odisha on March 18. The Puri district administration has initiated an investigation into the matter three months after the incident took place. A report by The Times of India said some servitors had obstructed the path of the President near the shrine’s sanctum sanctorum.

The group had also shoved the First Lady, as per the minutes of a meeting occurred by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on March 20. The SJTA meeting had come a day after the Rashtrapati Bhavan issued a strong note to Puri collector Aravind Agarwal, lodging protest against the conduct of servitors. The incident was confirmed by SJTA chief administrator, IAS officer Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra.

Mohapatra, however, refused to elaborate further. “We discussed the matter at a meeting of the temple managing committee a few days ago. It is being investigated,” he said.

On March 18, devotees were not allowed inside the temple between 6.35 am- 8.40 am so that the dignitaries could have a hassle-free darshan. The report added that only a few government officers and servitors were permitted inside the temple to accompany Kovind and his wife.

As per Pragativadi, a local daily, when President Kovind walked towards Ratna Singhasana in Puri Jagannath temple, a Khuntia Mekap servitor reportedly did not give the President proper space. The report added that some servitors ‘nudged’ the couple while they were having darshan.

Taking a stern view of the incident, the temple administration has taken a decision to serve show cause notices to three servitors. “We can’t understand why the district administration failed to prevent the unpleasant situation. Until now, only common devotees were exploited by the servitors. Now it seems not even the President and his family was spared,” TOI quoted Congress leader Suresh Kumar Routray as saying.

With Inputs From Times Now