Scuffle at Omkareshwar temple during rush of devotees, six employees dismissed

Six temple trust employees, including a supervisor, were terminated after a viral video showed devotees clashing with staff over darshan arrangements at Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga in Madhya Pradesh.

Services of six employees, including a supervisor, were terminated on Monday following a dispute between devotees and members of the temple trust over darshan arrangements at the Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga area in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district, an official said.

The action was taken after a video of Sunday's incident went viral.

Khandwa Collector Rishav Gupta told reporters that the number of devotees in Omkareshwar has increased due to the summer holidays and the auspicious Purushottam month.

''The administration has implemented a one-way system to manage the crowd in Omkareshwar. Some devotees attempted to forcibly disrupt this arrangement and tried to enter the temple from the exit point,'' Gupta said.

He added that even after temple trust employees tried to pacify them, the devotees didn't listen, resulting in a scuffle.

He said the services of the temple trust supervisor and five other employees have been terminated.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Pankaj Verma said the action followed an investigation based on the video of the incident.

He added that the police are also taking appropriate legal action.