IG Panda clone married to Lord Shiva

Bhubaneshwar: Controversial Uttar Pradesh Inspector General of Police D K Panda voluntarily retired on Monday.

Panda reached Puri on Sunday along with some of his disciples to continue his so-called bhakti rass with Lord Jagannath.

With the controversial IPS officer landing in Bhubaneswar, the media glare has now shifted from Uttar Pradesh to Orissa. Cameras, journalists and curious crowds greeted him as he stepped off the train wearing a 'Radha dress'(a bright yellow sari-like costume that covered his head) and chanting "Jai Shri Krishna."

Panda claims he been called to Puri by Lord Jagannath and will continue to stay there as long as the Lord so desires. He however clarified(in his own imitable style that consists not so much of talking than sermonising) that his behaviour doesn't harm either his career or reflect poorly on his proffesion.

"In the Bhagwad Gita, it is mentioned, when Karm (work) is over, submit yourself to Bhakti (worship). That's what I'm doing" he said.

In an interesting aside, a Mumbai-based woman and her child arrived in Puri with Panda. It is speculated that they may soon marry but neither of them responded to this query with the woman, who describes herself as Panda's disciple, only admitting that she feels happy here along with the "baba."

Panda Clone

But the senior IPS officer is not the only one in Orissa who calls himself a reincarnation of Lord Radha. There is another 16-year-old boy in Orissa?s Balasore district who, devotees say, has metamorphosised into Goddess Parvati. Dressed as a bride, the young man was married to a statue of Lord Shiva in a formal ceremony in the presence of several devotees.

The boy, devotees say, can perform miracles like healing people and even revealing the past and predicting the future of his disciples.

"We firmly believe that "Mata" is there in the boy and we have full faith in this marriage," says Gitanjalli Dutta, a devotee.

These sort of marriages between humans and gods is not a strange phenomenon in state like Orissa but what is new is that male devotees nowadays, like Panda and the young man, do not claim to just be married to their favourite gods, they believe they are their reincarnations.

And, even stranger, people believe them.