Bribery, gold theft allegations at Dharmarayaswamy temple, official suspended

BENGALURU: A controversy has erupted over allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds at the historic Dharmarayaswamy Temple in Bengaluru. Satish, the past president of the temple management committee, has accused officials of demanding a Rs 2 lakh commission on a Rs 10 lakh deal.

Satish claims that the officials, including the Executive Officer (EO) of the Endowments Department, are involved in corrupt practices and have even eyed the gold necklace offered to Draupadamma, a revered deity. He alleged that the EO took away the necklace, claiming it was for safekeeping, but later returned it with lesser gold.

The dispute has led to protests and allegations of harassment by Satish, who has announced that he will release evidence. The controversy has also led to a court case over the Karaga decorations, with Satish alleging that the decorators have not been paid.

Satish also accused officials of demanding a commission to release funds for the Karaga festival. He claimed that the officials, including the Executive Officer (EO) Nagaraj, are involved in corrupt practices and have demanded a 20 per cent commission on a Rs 10 lakh deal. He alleges that the officials have released only Rs 40 lakh out of the Rs 1.5 crore allocated for the festival and have demanded a commission from the vendors who supplied flowers, decorations and other services.

The vendors, including Ravichandran, who supplied flowers, and Sujatha, who provided lighting, have not been paid despite completing their work. They claim that the officials are demanding a commission and have threatened to stop the festival if their demands are not met. Ravichandran says that he was asked to supply expensive jasmine flowers and was promised payment, but the officials are now demanding a commission. Sujatha says that she was not paid for her lighting services and was told that she would be paid only if she paid a commission.

Satish has alleged that the officials have misappropriated the funds and have used the temple’s resources for their personal gain. He has demanded an investigation into the matter and has accused the officials of harassment.

The Executive Officer (EO) of the Endowments Department, Nagaraj, however, denied allegations of tampering with the gold necklace offered to Draupadamma.

Nagaraj claims that on October 6, during the counting of offerings, a gold necklace was found in the hundi (collection box). As it was evening and bank officials were unavailable to verify the quality of the gold, he took the necklace for testing. He stated that there is no locker facility in the temple to store valuable items, and the rules dictate that such items should be handed over to the head priest or kept in the temple’s strong room. However, the head priest had been dismissed, and the assistant priest was suspended at the time.

Nagaraj said that the gold necklace was tested and weighed in the presence of others on October 6 itself. On October 8, the necklace was re-tested with bank officials and returned to the hundi. He has released photos and videos of the gold necklace from both dates to prove that there was no tampering.

Though Nagaraj denied the allegations, the Commissioner of the Endowments Department, Sharath B, has ordered an investigation into the matter and has suspended Nagaraj.

The situation remains tense, with the vendors and Satish demanding that the officials be brought to book and the funds be released for the festival. The Commissioner has assured that action will be taken against those found guilty and has issued notices to other officials, including Tahsildar Aravind and EO Naveen.

In a statement, Satish said, “We are not concerned about the money, but we want to ensure that the temple’s resources are used for the intended purpose. We will continue to fight for justice and will not let the officials get away with their corrupt practices.”

The controversy has sparked outrage among the public, with many demanding that the officials be brought to book and the temple’s resources be protected.