Vaishno Devi Temple is one of the most famous religious places in India and attracts millions of devotees every year. But this time an unprecedented and explosive controversy has started over the holy temple. There have been allegations of a major scam involving silver donations made by devotees at the foot of the goddess. There are allegations that around Rs 500 crore of silver donated by devotees in the past few years has gone missing or has been altered and mixed with cheaper and inferior metals. After the news of the scandal came to light, the administration took swift action. The entire matter has already reached the floor of the court, in view of which the Sri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board has now decided to thoroughly examine the donations given by the devotees and its maintenance.
The incident that hurt the emotions of crores of fans in the country started a few days ago. It is reported that around 20 tonnes of silver ornaments, coins and other items donated by devotees have been stored in the Vaishnodevi temple for the past five-six years. As per rules, large quantities of silver were sent to a government mint outside Jammu and Kashmir for assaying, smelting and processing. But the officials were surprised when the purity of the silver was tested at the mint. Reports show that only 5 to 6 percent of the 20 tons of metal was real silver. All the rest was a mixture of cadmium, iron and other cheap metals. If the 20 tonnes of metal were pure silver at market price, it would be worth around Rs 550 crore. However, after testing, it was found that its actual value in the market today is only a very small fraction of this huge amount. Of the 70 kg of silver sent for testing, only 3 kg of genuine silver was found and the remaining 67 kg of cheap counterfeits.
The temple of Mata Vaishno Devi at the foot of the Trikuta Hills in Katra attracts devotees from all over the country who make ritual offerings of silver umbrellas, silver coins and ornaments. As per the rules of the Shrine Board, all these things are collected under strict security and kept in lockers. Later they are sent for redemption at fixed intervals so that the funds of the Board can be increased or used for other religious purposes. But after the laboratory report came, it became clear that what was kept in the box as silver was actually a fraud in the name of silver. Most alarmingly, the reported metal cadmium is highly toxic and a known cancer-causing element. This not only makes the forgery a Rs 500 crore scam, but also poses a major threat to the health and safety of workers and employees who handle or smell these metals day in and day out.
As soon as this serious fraud came to light, legal action was taken. On May 9, 2026, advocate Deepak Sharma filed a formal complaint with the Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police. His indictment is claimed to include several aggravated counts, including criminal conspiracy, fraud, breach of trust, falsification of public records and use of toxic cadmium in donations. The complainant chief demanded an inquiry into two matters. First, when devotees bought silver articles from local shops or traders in Katra and donated them to the temple, did the sellers cheat them into selling fake or adulterated silver? Or is the second possibility that the devotees paid real silver but after it went into the custody of the Shrine Board, the real silver was stolen and replaced with cheap counterfeits? A court in Jammu has taken strict action against the accused. The court directed the investigating officer of the crime branch to appear in person with all original documents and records related to the Rs 500 crore fraud and forged forms. The next hearing in the high-profile case will be on July 29.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Governor Manoj Sinha, who is the chairman of the Sri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board, has come forward to deal with the situation. A high-level review meeting of the board was held under his chairmanship. Board officials said the current status of grant verification process, CCTV monitoring, banking security and regular audit of grants was presented in the meeting. The Board demands that all financial transactions of the temple are conducted in full compliance with banking norms, regulatory laws and Government of India guidelines. Even silver is transported and refined under tight security through accredited institutions like the Reserve Bank of India and the Government Mint of Hyderabad. The Shrine Board claimed that the main objective of the review is to strictly maintain complete transparency, accountability and a certain standard in the management of donations by devotees visiting the shrine. But the Rs 500 crore scam is now limited to Rs No, it’s notIt involves the trust of billions of fans, the integrity of local vendors and the safety of the lives of workers using toxic cadmium. There is now a major institutional question about how donations are examined and audited at one of India’s major religious sites.