Ayodhya’s Ram temple is at the centre of a controversy once again. The chief priest of Ram Lalla Temple has made serious allegations of theft against the temple administration.
The chief priest, Acharya Satyendra Das, on Sunday alleged that people associated with the temple administration have been stealing jewellery worth crores of rupees from ‘Daan Patra’—a box kept near the idols, in which those who come for darshan deposit cash or jewellery.
The chief priest has alleged that stealing of jewellery has been going on since long, but has not given the exact amount that was stolen. He only claimed that the stolen items would be worth crores of rupees.
He has named a clerk, Basant Maurya, working in the office of Faizabad commissioner, in connection with the theft. The chief priest alleged that Maurya has become a billionaire because of theft.
According to Satyendra Das, since 2000, there has not been any record of jewellery received as offering, despite the fact that every year, devotees denote jewellery in good amount as offering.
This is not for the first time that Satyendra Dev hurled allegations against the temple administration. Earlier too, he had accused the temple administration of not sanctioning adequate money for celebrations associated with Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas.
A couple of weeks ago, the chief priest had alleged that for a small ceremony, some new dresses were stitched for the idols placed at the disputed site; new flags, curtains, and other puja materials were arranged too. The arrangement costed little over Rs 50,000. However, when he sent the bill to the official receiver of Ram Lalla, who is commissioner and a senior bureaucrat, only Rs 42,000 was approved. Upset, the chief priest had complained about this to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and is waiting for the CM's office to initiate action in this regard.