Bhubaneswar, July 15: Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik was attacked by a group of outlaws who also stole his gold chain in the crowd during Bahuda Yatra in Puri on Thursday. He suffered injuries on his neck and filed a complaint at Kumbharapada police station. He also drew the attention of the Director General of police, K B Singh on the incident.
The incident happened near Badasankha when the chariots were being pulled back from the Gundicha Temple towards the Jagannath Temple.
Pattnaik narrated the incident, that he was present in the crowd at Badasankha to catch glimpse of the deities. As Lord Balabhadra’s chariot neared the place where he stood, a man approached him, shook hands and said he liked his sand arts. Suddenly, another man pushed him from behind and as he fell down, the man forcefully grabbed his neck even though he moaned in pain. The man snatched his lucky chain, laced with golden lockets of Jagannath and Ganesh.
Police said they are investigating the matter and will find out if the place of occurrence comes under the CCTV cameras installed at the area.
