Keys to Jagannath temple’s treasury go missing: Under fire Odisha CM orders probe

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday ordered a judicial probe into the missing of the key of the Ratna Bhandara of the Jagannath temple in Puri.

"Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a judicial inquiry into the circumstances leading to the non-availability of keys of Ratna Bhandara of Jagannath Temple, Puri," a communication from the chief minister's office (CMO) said.

The report of the probe to be conducted by a retired judge of the Odisha high court will have to be submitted within three months. The probe will focus on the circumstances in which the Ratna Bhandara key has gone missing.

It was on April 4 that a 16-member team entered the 'Ratna Bhandar' after 34 years and had a quick scrutiny of its physical conditions amid tight security following an order of the Orissa High Court.

The members of the inspection team did not need to enter the inner chamber as the chambers were visible from outside through an iron grill, an official of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration had said after the inspection.

It now appears that the team members did not enter the inner chambers and saw its condition from outside with the help of search lights as the keys were not available.

Of the seven chambers of the Ratna Bhandar, the first two are outer chambers which were used from time to time, and the others are called inner chambers.

Neither the temple administration nor the Puri district treasury has the key of the inner treasury, Das Mahapatra told PTI.

The matter came to light two months later.