Endowments department writes to temple trust on takeover after pilferage of donations

BENGALURU: Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department has issued a notice to the administrative trust of the Gali Anjaneya temple at Byatarayanapura seeking its opinion on takeover of the temple by the department after largescale corruption by some of the trustees and priests came to light.

The notice was issued under Section 42 and 43 of the Endowment Act after videos of temple trustees and priests pocketing bundles of cash donated by devotees, during the couting of notes, went viral on social media.

Meanwhile, a devotee, Mohan P V, has lodged a complaint with the Byatarayanapura police alleging that a priest, Srinivas Ramanuja Bhattacharya, had affixed a QR code in the temple which is linked to his personal bank account. He noted that the donations or payments made by devotees through the QR code are going into the priest’s account.

The complainant has also alleged that the trustees and priests have been misusing the temple properties including gold and silver ornaments and hundi offerings. He has named temple trustees D M Hanumanthappa, B P Nagaraj alias Ashok, B V Srinivas Ramanuja Bhattacharya, A H Gopinath, Suresh, Raghavendra and Mallikarjun in his complaint. The Byatarayanapura police have registered a complaint and taken up further investigation.