Puri: The mystery with regard to the missing keys of Srimandir Ratnabhandar (treasure house) is yet to be solved even though two years have elapsed since the submission of a report by a judicial commission, constituted by the state government to look into the issue.
The judicial commission, headed by Orissa High Court retired judge Raghubir Das, had submitted its 324-page final report on the missing keys to the state government November 30, 2018.
It is learnt that the state government had spent Rs 22, 27, 918 on the judicial panel to probe the missing key episode.
Many devotees and social activists, meanwhile, have expressed displeasure over the state government’s failure to solve the issues related to the missing keys and take stock of the ornaments and precious items stored at the inner chamber of Ratnabhandar. They have also raised apprehensions on the safety of ornaments stored at the temple treasure house.
Servitors of the 12th century shrine usually open the outer chamber of the temple treasury quite a few times in a year to collect ornaments for the Suna Besha (golden attire) rituals of the presiding deities. However, the inner chamber of Ratnabhandar was opened for the last time in 1985, sources said. The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee had deliberated on the structural status of the Ratnabhandar in a meeting March 20, 2018. Some members of the temple panel had raised issues related to the structural status of Ratnabhandar in the wake of major repair work at Srimandir Jagamohan.
The issue had also reached Orissa High Court. The court had directed the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to examine the structural status of the temple treasury.
In accordance with the HC order, a 16-member team of experts and senior government officials opened the Bahara (outer chamber) Ratnabhandar and examined its status April 4, 2018 after receiving the required permission from the state government.
However, the team did not open the inner chamber of Ratnabhandar but examined its status from outside. Later, it came to the fore that the keys to the inner chamber of Ratnabhandar were missing. The issue was raised at a meeting of the Srimandir managing committee May 28, 2018.
The state government had formed a judicial commission to look into the issues related to the missing keys June 6, 2018 after facing criticism from several quarters. The commission was told to submit its report within three months.
The SJTA, Puri district administration and some private individuals and organisations had submitted their affidavits to the judicial panel. In the meantime, the then Puri Collector Aravind Agrawal informed the media June 13, 2018 that ‘duplicate’ keys to the inner chamber of Ratnabhandar were found from an envelope at the district treasury. In this scenario, the state government had extended the tenure of the judicial panel till December 7, 2018.
Recently, Dillip Baral, a devotee, has written to the chairman of Srimandir Managing Committee seeking early inspection to the ornaments and precious items stored at the inner Ratnabhandar.
“The judicial panel had submitted its final report two years ago. But, the state government is yet to reveal anything on the missing keys. So, it is natural that apprehensions have been raised with regard to the safety of ornaments stored at the temple treasure house. To allay people’s concern, the state government should take immediate steps to open the inner chamber of Ratnabhandar and take stock of the ornaments,” said a social activist.
