Puja to purify office after man’s suicide draws backlash

Kendrapada: Day after a dalit man died by suicide on the premises of the district collector’s office, a Vastu Shanti puja was allegedly held to clear the place of alleged negative energy, and has now drawn a backlash.Sricharana Das (26) of Raitundi village hanged himself from the iron railings of the collector’s office around 1 pm on Friday over alleged harassment in obtaining permission from officials to sell his land.Following his death, the district administration organized a puja on the office of collector. Two priests were brought in to purify all the rooms by pouring holy water. They also purified the area where the youth had killed himself.The move drew criticism with many wondering why instead of doing a puja, action was not taken against errant officials. “At a time when a man ended his life due to administrative apathy, the officials are busy in correcting vastu. We condemn their action,” said Sahadev Naik, a local.“It is the first and foremost work of the authorities to take action against the officials who were responsible for his untimely death. But instead of taking steps against the officials, the administration organized a puja in the office,” said Gayadhar Dhal, the secretary of CPM’s district unit.When contacted, Kendrapada district collector Raghuram R. Iyer said the district administration organized a puja and other religious rituals to purify the building as a man had unfortunately ended his life on the office premises. “The district administration has launched an investigation into this tragic incident. We will take strict action against any official found guilty of wrongdoing and harassing the man.”