Bihar: Patna traffic police are considering to impose a fine on Bageshwar Dham chief and self-styled godman Dhirendra Shastri and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Manoj Tiwari for violation of traffic rules. After Baba Bageshwar arrived in Patna on May 13, Tiwari accompanied him in his car from Patna airport to Panash Hotel where he is staying.
During the journey, they allegedly did not wear seat belts and reached the hotel. Following this, Puran Kumar Jha, the traffic SP of Patna formed a team to probe the matter. According to sources, the team will be headed by the traffic DSP of Patna. If it is proved that they were not wearing seat belts during their journey, then they would face a penalty, the sources added.
The team is scanning the CCTV footage of the route from Patna airport to Panash Hotel and also taking help from a media organisation to get the video evidence.
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BJP accuses Bihar govt of mismanagement
Meanwhile, BJP MP Ram Kripal Yadav hit out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led government of mismanagement after hundreds of devotees fell sick during the 'Divya Darbar' session of Bageshwar Baba in Patna's Naubatpur. Yadav claimed more than hundreds of devotees attending the Divya Darbar fell sick during Sunday's session due to high humidity and the heavy crowd inside the venue.
"The devotees came in large numbers and the police were not able to control the crowd. There was no drinking water facility arranged inside the venue, all this clearly shows the state government's mismanagement", he said.
According to the organizers of the event, more than three lakh devotees reached the venue for the event which was beyond the expected count. Also, the temperature in Patna was over 42 degrees on Sunday which resulted in many devotees falling sick due to the scorching heat.
Bageshwar Baba in Patna
It should be mentioned here that Bageshwar Baba is currently in Patna for a period of five days. He is holding Hanuman Katha at Taret Pali Math in Naubatpur locality. A large number of his followers are turning out at the venue leading to huge chaos on the roads. Due to excessive crowds on the roads, traffic operations in the connecting roads heading toward Naubatpur have become a challenge for Patna police. The residents living within the radius of 25 km from the venue are facing tough times since May 13.
(With inputs from agencies)