‘Duplicate keys may have been made with intent to steal Ratna Bhandar valuables’

BHUBANESWAR: One of the members of a govt-appointed committee, set up to supervise the inventory of Ratna Bhandar of Puri Jagannath temple, suspected that the duplicate keys might have been made in the past with an intention to steal valuables.
On July 14, the committee members broke three locks of Ratna Bhandar’s inner chamber to gain access inside it after two duplicate keys that were available with the administration malfunctioned.The original keys of the inner chamber were found missing in 2018, prompting the previous Naveen Patnaik govt to order a probe by retired judge of Orissa high court, Justice Raghubir Das.
“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,” committee member Jagdish Mohanty told journalists after a meeting convened by the panel’s chairman, Biswanath Rath, in Puri on Monday.
Mohanty, who is a retired IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, said he raised the issue in the meeting. He, however, said the committee is not authorized to recommend to the govt to initiate a criminal investigation.
“Our mandate is only to supervise the inventory and repair of Ratna Bhandar. The temple administration may inform the govt about our suspicion. If the govt wants, they can register a criminal case to find out the truth,” Mohanty said, adding that some boxes containing the valuables within the inner chamber too were found unlocked on July 14.
The inner chamber had three wooden almirahs, a steel almirah, two wooden chests and an iron chest. Sources in the temple administration said only one wooden almirah was found locked. Though there was provision of locks in two other wooden cupboards, the lock position was not proper. Another iron chest had two lock provisions, but one lock was open. Two wooden chests had no locks at all.