Jagannath Temple’s 83-year-old servitor killed after argument with neighbour

People in the locality said an argument had taken place between Jagannath Dikshit and his neighbour shortly before the deadly assault

Published on: Jun 11, 2025, 21:06:48 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: An 83-year-old servitor of Jagannath Temple was found dead just outside his house in the temple town of Puri on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Puri superintendent of police (SP) Vinit Agrawal said the murder appears to be a fallout of personal enmity. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The temple servitor, identified by the police as Jagannath Dikshit, who worked as a Mahasuara of the temple. He was found with severe injuries to his head near his house in Gudiasahi, a little after 3pm, after he returned from the temple.

Police said they are scrutinising the CCTV footage showing Narayan Pattajoshi, a neighbour of Dikshit, allegedly throwing him on the road. People in the locality said an argument had taken place between Dikshit and Pattajoshi shortly before the assault. The accused is on the run.

Puri superintendent of police (SP) Vinit Agrawal said the murder appears to be a fallout of personal enmity. “Preliminary probe suggests that the incident occurred due to past enmity and it will become clearer after further investigation. Efforts are on to apprehend the accused,” Agrawal said.

Diskhit was unmarried and lived alone.

The murder was reported hours after chief minister Mohan Majhi visited the temple town on the occasion of Snana Paurnima when the three deities - Lord Jagannath along with his sibling - Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadhra - are bathed in holy waters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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