TNI Bureau: Taking a serious note of the Saradhabali stampede case where three devotees died while several others were injured, Odisha government constituted a probe panel headed by the Development Commissioner (DC).

The DC has been directed to conduct an in-depth administrative inquiry to identify lapses of the stampede and ensure accountability.

A high-level meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi following which he announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh each for the next kin of the three deceased devotees.

The government also transferred Puri Collector (District Magistrate) Siddharth Shankar Swain and Superintendent of Police (SP) Vinit Agarwal with immediate effect.

Khurda Collector Chanchal Rana has been appointed new District Magistrate of Puri while Pinak Mishra replaced Vinit Agarwal as new SP.

This apart,  Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vishnu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padhi have been suspended following the unfortunate incident.

The high-level meeting also decided that senior IAS officer Arvind Agarwal will remain in overall supervision of Puri Ratha Jatra.