The Vaishnodevi temple in Jammu and Kashmir has been in the headlines amid controversy over the theft of huge sums of money and donations from the Ram temple. The investigating agency has been directed to submit a detailed report on whether the Rs 550 crore donated to the temple was fake or stolen. A Jammu and Kashmir court issued the order on Tuesday.
The whole controversy started last May. The Vaishnodevi temple has sent 20 tonnes of silver donation worth Rs 550 crore to the government mint for smelting and preservation. During the process, it was revealed that only 5 percent of the silver sent by the temple authorities was genuine. The remaining 95 percent is cadmium and iron. Initially, the temple authorities claimed that the devotees were unknowingly impersonating the Lord. But lawyer Deepak Sharma spoke about the matter. He lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Crime Branch, Jammu and Kashmir, on suspicion of mixing counterfeit silver instead of genuine silver donated to the temple. The complaint filed on May 9 alleges criminal conspiracy, fraud, breach of trust, embezzlement and falsification of public records. The lawyer also demanded that all documents and evidence be preserved and a complaint filed.
However, the Crime Branch did not take any action despite his complaint and he appealed to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu. In this case, the crime branch said in their report that the complaint has been sent to the crime branch headquarters in Srinagar for approval and necessary action has been taken. However, the complainant said that the crime branch is bound to file a complaint in the case. The complainant has applied for collection and preservation of all documents including CCTV footage. He is also seeking test and smell reports, electronic data and evidence of silver artifacts.
The court directed the crime branch to submit all the information. The court strictly directed the investigating officer of the crime branch to appear in person with all the documents at the next hearing of the case scheduled in July.