Puri: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) of Puri Sunday questioned a senior servitor over the alleged use of surplus sacred wood of the 12th-century shrine in crafting idols in a temple at Digha in neighbouring West Bengal, officials said.
The servitor, ‘Daitapati Nijog’ secretary Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, attended and supervised the consecration ceremony at the Digha temple in presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee April 30.
‘Daitapati Nijog’ is a group of servitors considered bodyguards of Lord Jagannath.
Apart from Mohapatra, around 56 other servitors from the Puri temple had reportedly attended the event at the Digha temple.
Amid a row over the West Bengal government’s portrayal of the Digha temple as ‘Jagannath Dham’ and alleged use of Puri shrine’s surplus wood in the construction of idols there, Odisha’s Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan May 2 asked the SJTA to inquire into the matter.
SJTA chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee summoned Dasmohapatra and questioned him for about 90 minutes. The administration wanted to know whether he, as the secretary of ‘Daitapati Nojog’, had taken sacred wood from the Puri temple and used it in making the idols for the Digha temple, officials said.
It is alleged that some Puri servitors used leftover ‘neem’ wood from the 2015 ‘Nabakalebara’ (new form) ritual to make the idols for the shrine in Digha.
‘Nabakalebara’ is a ritual held every 12 or 19 years, during which the wooden bodies of idols – Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath – are changed at the Puri temple.
Dasmohapatra, who is known as Rajesh Daitapati in West Bengal, was also asked questions like who keeps the keys of the “Daru Gruha”, the store room in the Puri temple where sacred wood are kept, and whether ‘Brahma’ installation was made at Digha temple.
‘Brahma’ is a material considered to be the soul of Lord Jagannath, which is transferred from the old idol to a new one during the ‘Nabakalebara’ ritual.
Dasmohapatra and another senior member of the Daitapati Nijog, who appeared before the SJTA, did not take questions from reporters.
Dasmohapatra, however, said on May 2 that he attended the consecration ceremony at Digha temple following an invitation from “his disciple Mamata Banerjee” denied telling a Bengali news channel that wood from the Puri temple was used for idol making there.
He had also clarified that he had taken idols made of neem wood to Digha, but it was not the “Daru Gruha.”
During questioning, the SJTA chief administrator who is also an IAS officer also wanted to know why he was making contradictory statements.
The SJTA has also issued notices to all the servitors’ unions seeking their opinion on the issue, an official said.
At least two complaints were filed with the police in Puri over the alleged theft of sacred wood from the ‘Daru Gruha’ for making idols installed in Digha temple.
Leaders of various political parties have reacted over the issue.
Senior BJP leader of West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari said in an X post: “The questionable involvement of Servitors, and the unauthorised use of surplus Sacred Wood are directly affront to ethics and morality surrounding the Jagannath Culture and centuries long traditions,”
The leader of the opposition in the neighbouring state welcomed the Odisha government’s decision to probe into the matter.
“The West Bengal Government have stooped to a new low with their deceitful tactics, officially labelling the Digha Project as the ‘Jagannath Dham Cultural Centre’ in documents, but promoting it as a ‘Jagannath Temple’ to mislead devotees and exploit their faith,” Adhikari alleged in the post.
Odisha’s main opposition party BJD also denounced projecting Digha temple as a “Jagannath Dham”.
“Projecting Digha Temple as a Dham has hurt the sentiments of people. There should not be another Jagannath Dham besides Puri,” BJD deputy leader in Assembly Prasanna Acharya said.
When contacted, Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das told PTI: “I am not an expert in religious matter. Let us seek the opinion of Puri Shankaracharya and Gajapati Maharaj. They are authorised to speak on the subject and not politicians like us. We are just devotees of the Lord and not spiritual masters.”
About the alleged theft of the sacred wood of Puri temple, the Congress leader said one has to verify facts and later make allegations.
“Is there any restriction on the use of the surplus wood of the temple or not. I do not have any idea. It all depends of the faith,” he said.
PTI
