Mahakal Temple fire caused by 'gulal' falling on camphor aarti: Ujjain collector

The fire in Ujjains Mahakal Temple on March 25 that left 14 priests and sevaks injured was caused by gulal falling on the kapoor camphor aarti, a senior official said on Thursday quoting from a preliminary report.The blaze took place during bhasma aarti at 550 pm in the garbha griha of the renowned temple on Holi.The probe committee has submitted its preliminary report.

The fire in Ujjain's Mahakal Temple on March 25 that left 14 priests and 'sevaks' injured was caused by 'gulal' falling on the 'kapoor' (camphor) aarti, a senior official said on Thursday quoting from a preliminary report.

The blaze took place during 'bhasma aarti' at 5:50 pm in the 'garbha griha' of the renowned temple on Holi.

''The probe committee has submitted its preliminary report. It has been found that gulal, which was not provided by the temple management, fell on 'kapoor' (camphor) aarti and caused the blaze. It was extinguished in four to five seconds but the intensity was such that several persons sustained 25-30 percent burns,'' Ujjain Collector Neeraj Kumar Singh told PTI.

''The probe committee also found violations related to number of people inside the temple as well the quantity and kind of gulal. Security personnel were not in their assigned duty areas and some of the places were locked, which resulted in delay as time was spent unlocking them,'' the collector added.

Negligence was found on part of the temple committee employees and appropriate action will be taken against them, he said.

''At present, four to five persons have been held primarily responsible for the incident. However, this number may increase once statements of all persons concerned are recorded. The final report will be submitted soon,'' Singh informed.

Following the incident, the collector had ordered a probe under Zilla Panchayat CEO Mrinal Meena and Additional Collector Anukool Jain.

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