Maharashtra: Siddhivinayak Temple Trust calls for audit amid donation theft allegations

MUMBAI: Following MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s allegations regarding theft of Rs 18 crore donations, the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust called for an audit into the increase in the amount of donations to the temple in the last two years and said that eight people were arrested, who are out on bail.

At an MNS event last Saturday, Raj Thackeray had cited a purported letter by the temple trust to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, in which they complained of a donation theft from the Siddhivinayak Temple.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Monday, a trustee said that police action was taken against the accused and several employees were also suspended for allegedly receiving bribes for VIP darshan at the Mumbai temple.

#WATCH | Mumbai | On Raj Thackeray’s allegations on Siddhivinayak Temple donation scam, Siddhivinayak Temple Trust President Sada Sarvankar says, “So far, the temple employees who were detained by the police on the basis of allegations were first given police custody and then… pic.twitter.com/okLFy83TTe

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He said, “So far, the temple employees who were detained by the police on the basis of allegations were first given police custody and then jail custody. Then the court granted them bail. Eight people were detained by the police and were given 3 days of police custody. After police custody, they received an NCR (Non-Cognizable Report), and after that, they were granted bail, including Naresh Khade”.

“The money is counted every Wednesday and the same day deposited into the bank. In the last two years, the donations have increased. Some employees have been suspended. They took money from devotees to provide VIP darshan. People from across the world and celebrities come to Siddhivinayak Temple for darshan. There should be an audit on how the donations have increased,” the trustee said.

Last Saturday, Raj Thackeray had claimed, “The trustees of the Siddhivinayak Temple have written a letter to Eknath Shinde informing him that a theft has occurred in the temple. There is suspicion that 18 crore rupees have been looted from the donation box. Students cannot trust the government, so if they go to a temple and theft is happening right there in that temple, then who should these children trust?”

This comes amid the ongoing stir over the Ayodhya Ram Temple donation embezzlement case, which has become a heated issue and has been raised by opposition leaders in Parliament. (ANI)