The Odisha High Court has refused to interfere in the case of some Ganesha idols made by artisans in Kumbharsahi, Cuttack. Refusing to interfere in the affair, the HC on Monday urged the police and administration to make an appropriate assessment and implement adequate security precautions.
Following this, Cuttack DCP Pinak Mishra urged the organisers on Monday not to install such idols. “Police have always asked the idol makers to refrain from making such idols. We will take action if the idol makers are found to disobey the order. Police cannot entertain such steps which will hurt the religious sentiment of devotees,” Mishra said.
According to reports, authorities summoned a few idol artists on Sunday and ordered them to dismantle their sculptures. In addition, the cops requested that the idols not be sent to the puja pandal for worshipping.
Some idol makers, however, did not take kindly to this and petitioned the Odisha High Court to rule in their favour. They stated they will suffer severe losses if the idols cannot be sold and had to be destroyed. They pleaded with the HC to let them sell the idols.
The petitioner’s counsel, Ashish Mishra, referred to the idols as Rudra Ganesha and claimed that the Commissionerate Police were unaware of the existence of this deity. “Rudra Ganesha idols are widely accessible in Pune, Nagpur, and Maharashtra, where they were also revered in the past,” he said.
“Distorted Ganesha idols are not the subject of discussion here. Police ego is a matter of concern. In a separate petition, police claimed that they came to know about the sale of ‘distorted idols’ at Kumbharsahi and raided the area. They took an undertaking from idol makers after holding a discussion with the latter. Police have misled the Court by making all these fake claims. All they (police) want to spoil their business as they are earning fast buck during the puja season,” Mishra further added.
