Digha shrine row: Shree Jagannath Temple Administration suspends Daitapati servitor Ramakrushna Das Mahapatra
Puri(Abhishek Mohanty) The Puri Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Sunday suspended daitapati servitor Ramakrushna Das Mahapatra from the Jagannath Temple duty for a period of one month.
The disciplinary action was initiated by SJTA against Das Mahapatra for allegedly tarnishing the dignity of the 12th century shrine.
The suspension order issued by SJTA Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee bars the daitapati servitor from performing the rituals at the shrine for 30 days.
The temple administration had earlier served a showcause notice on Das Mahapatra in connection with his contradictory statements regarding the newly-constructed shrine at Digha in West Bengal. The SJTA had asked Das Mahapatra to submit his reply within seven days.
The notice was served on Das Mahapatra in the wake of media reports that surplus neem wood from Nabakalebar rituals at Puri Srimandir were used for construction of idols for the Digha shrine.
Das Mahapatra reportedly told some media channels in West Bengal that he had taken the surplus neem wood from the 2015 Nabakalebar rituals at Puri Srimandir to Digha for idol construction.
Later, Das Mahapatra clarified that he had not given such statement to any media channel. He said, "I told the media that neem wood idols were consecrafted at the newly-built temple at Digha."
