Cuttack: Odisha Police has finalised a comprehensive security plan for the upcoming Deba Snana Purnima, which will be observed on June 29 at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, with 72 police platoons set to be deployed to manage law and order during the religious event, officials said on Wednesday.
A high-level review meeting was held at the State Police Headquarters here under the chairmanship of Director General of Police (DGP) Yogesh Bahadur Khurania to assess preparedness for the festival.
During the meeting, senior officers reviewed crowd control, traffic management, and security arrangements in view of the large number of devotees expected to congregate for the Snana Purnima rituals. The DGP directed all units to ensure coordinated ground-level execution so that the festival, as well as the upcoming Rath Yatra, can be conducted smoothly in accordance with temple traditions. A detailed presentation on the management of the Snana Yatra was given by Additional DGP (Modernisation) Soumendra Kumar Priyadarshi during the meeting.
According to officials, the deployment plan includes senior supervisory officers along with field-level personnel. A total of 6 SP/Commandant officers, 17 Additional SPs, 42 DSPs, and 94 Inspectors will oversee arrangements. In addition, 352 SIs/ASIs, 53 Havildars, and 428 Constables will be deployed across key locations in and around the temple town.
Special focus has been laid on crowd regulation at the Snana Mandap, where strong barricading arrangements have been put in place to ensure smooth and orderly darshan for devotees. Modern CCTV surveillance systems will also be installed across sensitive zones, including barricaded areas, to enhance real-time monitoring.
Security arrangements will be further strengthened with the deployment of special crack teams to handle emergencies. An anti-snatching squad will be stationed to prevent incidents of pickpocketing and chain snatching, while a striking force will remain on standby for rapid response situations.
The DGP also emphasised inter-departmental coordination with the district administration to ensure seamless execution of all arrangements for the festival.
The meeting was attended by Director of Intelligence R.P. Koche; Additional DGP (Railways & Coastal Security) Arun Bothra; Additional DGP (Law & Order) Sanjay Kumar; Transport Commissioner-cum-Chairman Amitabh Thakur; Commissioner of Police (Bhubaneswar–Cuttack) S. Dev Datta Singh; Additional DGP (S.A.P.) Rajesh Kumar; IGP (Training) and Director, BPSPA Anup Kumar Sahoo; Director of the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) Awinash Kumar; Inspector General of Police (Central Range) Satyajit Naik; DIG (Provisioning) Charan Singh Meena; DIG (STF) Kanwar Vishal Singh; DIG (Personnel) Jugal Kishor Kumar Banoth; DIG (Crime Branch) Battula Gangadhar; and several other senior police officers. Additionally, Deputy Inspector General (Eastern Range) Pinak Mishra and Superintendent of Police, Puri, Prateek Singh, attended virtually.
