Poor crowd control efforts by police at the Komaravelli Mallanna shrine aroused outrage. During Shivratri, hundreds of devotees visited the temple for darshan and worship. After one of the traditional poojas known as “Peddapatnam” was finished, devotees rushed to obtain the sacred turmeric used in the pooja.
A large number of devotees took part in this programme. Peddapatnam, which began during Lingodbhava time, continued until sunrise on Saturday. Temple priests brought ceremonial idols of Swami and performed a special puja in Patnam. Devotees went to Mallanna after crossing Patnam.
Devotees jumped from the tops of the iron railings surrounding Patnam. Due to poor crowd management, police used lathi charges on festival day. Even female devotees were not spared from lathi strikes. Devotees were shocked and angered by the actions taken by the police and temple management, even though hundreds and lakhs of devotees travel from adjacent locations to see this famous ritual.
Shanthikumar of BJP Telangana posted on X stating, “At Komuravelli Temple in Siddipet district of Telangana, police baton-charged innocent devotees. The police didn’t even spare the women devotees.
https://x.com/BJPShanthikumar/status/1766362018418991377?s=20
Oggu Pujaris, traditional priests of the Mallanna temple, draw a type of rangoli known as Patnam (considered a divine means of presenting prayers to the Lord) in front of Lord Mallanna’s sanctum sanctorum inside the shrine and on the temple’s verandah. Thousands of devotees come to the Mallanna temple during Maha Shivaratri to celebrate Pedda Patnam.
Komuravelli Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple, also known popularly as Komuravelli Mallanna, is a Hindu shrine located on a hillock in Komuravelli village, 87 km away from Hyderabad in Siddipet district. The primary deity of this shrine is Mallanna, or Mallikarjuna Swamy, considered an incarnation of Lord Shiva. It is located close to the town of Siddipet on Rajiv Rahadari, a well-developed highway that connects Hyderabad with Karimnagar.
