Ratna Bhandar keys row: Case filed in Odisha court against Puri collector

Puri: A case was filed today in Puri SDJM court against Puri collector Arvind Agarwal and former Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Pradeep Jena over Ratna Bhandar keys controversy.

The case was filed by social activist Chinmaya Dash, a resident of Markandeswar Sahi in Puri, alleging that both Agarwal and Jena misled the fact relating to missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar and the duplicate keys of the Ratna Bhandar found from the locker of District Record Room.

As per SJTA Act 1955 and Shree Jagannath Temple Rules 1960, both Agarwal and Jena were assigned with the responsibility for looking into the day to day management and affairs of the shrine and also entrusted with overall authority for smooth execution as the Collector and Chief Administrator respectively.

However, both the accused kept crores of devotees in dark, alleged the complainant.

He mentioned in the complaint that the statement given by Agarwal regarding tracing of the duplicate key is completely false, baseless and fabricated as there is no rules described in the Shree Jagannath Rules 1960 permitting for keeping of duplicate keys.

The incident has showed that both the accused have hatched a conspiracy to confuse the devotees which is highly suspicious  and they have also failed to discharge their duties and responsibilities assigned to them, Dash said.

The next hearing in the case will take place on June 25.

Notably, while the government ordered judiciary probe into missing keys of Ratna Bhandar, Agarwal drew flak from people after he informed that the duplicate keys of Ratna Bhandar were found in a sealed envelope kept in a locker of the district record room.