The Ratna Bhandar of Odisha’s iconic Jagannath Temple of Puri was opened a couple of days ago after some 46 years and reports of theft have already started surfacing.
A member of the government-formed committee tasked with maintaining the inventory of the treasury has reasons to believe that duplicate keys of the Ratna Bhandar might have been used in the past to steal its contents.
What set off the suspicion?
The Ratna Bhandar was reopened on July 14 after committee members broke the three locks of the door as the duplicate keys kept by the temple administration malfunctioned.
But, why did authorities need duplicate keys in the first place? The original keys to the treasury went missing in 2018, prompting the former BJD government to order a probe.
According to a report by Times of India, Jagdish Mohanty, the committee member who suspects duplicate keys might have been produced with malevolent intent, said, “After the locks were broken following malfunctioning of the duplicate keys, it has been established that there was a criminal motive and intention to siphon off the valuables. The duplicate key issue was a hoax as theft attempt cannot be ruled out.”
There are three wooden almirahs, one steel almirah, two wooden chests and one iron chest in the treasury.
Temple administration sources have revealed that while one of the wooden almirahs was locked, the other two’s locks were not properly positioned, raising eyebrows.
Meanwhile, one of the two locks of the iron chest was broken and the two wooden chests did not have locks at all.
The committee suspects theft as the use of duplicate keys might have helped steal the valuables of the Ratna Bhandar.
What’s inside the treasury?
The Ratna Bhandar has two enclosures – the inner treasury or ‘Bhitar Bhandar’ and the outer treasury or ‘Bahar Bhandar’.
The treasury holds precious gold and diamond jewelry offered to Lord Jagannath over the years.
According to the Odisha Magazine, the outer bhandar has ‘suna mukuta’ of Lord Jagannath and three gold necklaces.
The inner treasury houses 74 gold ornaments, each weighing more than 100 tolas.
Link to article –
Was treasure from Puri Jagannath temple stolen? ‘Theft not ruled out’
