Puri: The Cyber Police Station in Odisha’s Puri has booked a website for allegedly misleading devotees of Lord Jagannath and extracting money from them with promises to facilitate darshan of Sibling Deities at the 12th-century temple, a senior officer said Monday.
Based on a complaint lodged by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Sunday, a case was registered against the ‘India Thrill’ website under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the IT Act, he said.
“Steps are being taken to identify the culprits and take legal action against them. Deputy SP Sanghamitra Nayak has been assigned to investigate the allegations,” a police officer said, adding that the complaint was lodged by Hemant Kumar Padhi, the officer of special duty (OSD), security of the SJTA.
The SJTA made it clear that the administration does not charge any fee from devotees for darshan or worship of the deities.
“It was noticed that an online platform was promoting a paid darshan system. This is fake and illegal. The administration does not charge devotees for prayers or darshan of the deities. It is completely free,” SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee told reporters.
The website owners could not be contacted for their comments on the allegations.
The temple administration also appealed to devotees not to be misled by such fraudulent portals.
The website has allegedly been charging Rs 50, Rs 100 and Rs 500 for darshan depending on time and category, another SJTA official claimed.
“The portal also included details about the temple’s history, rituals and darshan timings,” he said.
Puri SP Prateek Singh said devotees need to be cautious as some fake websites are misleading them.
“Legal action will be taken against those responsible for spreading false and deceptive content online,” the SP said.
The district police had, August 30, identified a website allegedly duping devotees by offering online pujas and collecting money from them.
The site demanded prices for ‘Abhishek Puja’, ‘Tulsi Daan Puja’, and special darshan of Lord Jagannath.
“However, there are no such rituals at Shree Mandir in Puri,” said Sudarshan Pattnaik, a former member of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee.
PTI
