Criminal case to be registered against Shingnapur temple trust for corruption

The law and judiciary department has been directed to file a criminal case against the trust for alleged corruption, the CM said

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has directed the police to file a criminal case against Shri Shaneshwar Devasthan, the trust that manages the popular Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahilyanagar district, after a probe by the government revealed blatant corruption in temple operations, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told the legislative assembly on Friday.

Shani Shingnapur temple (Shutterstock)

“The findings of the probe were shocking,” the chief minister said. “It comprises a fine example of major corruption at the place of God.”

The issue of misappropriation of funds by the temple trust was raised in the assembly by Shiv Sena legislator Vitthal Langhe, who said the trustees were using bogus apps and QR codes to embezzle donation funds.

Fadnavis, in his response, said it was a really serious matter and he had appointed a committee to probe the allegations after the issue was raised by Langhe in September last year. Elaborating on the findings of the probe, he said the Shri Shaneshwar Devasthan had claimed it had recruited 2,474 new employees, all of whom were found to be bogus.

The temple was managed by 258 workers till the trust chose to recruit new workers, but only on paper, the chief minister said. He gave the example of the hospital run by the temple trust, which had 80 medical personnel and 247 unskilled workers on its rolls, but only four doctors and nine unskilled workers were employed in reality. Though the temple did not have a garden, 80 employees were shown on paper. Similarly, only two persons were engaged in collecting donations and selling oil, though 352 employees were shown on paper. Another 327 bogus employees were shown engaged in various other work, he said.

“Money was siphoned off in the name of salaries for the 2,474 employees. Some mobile apps other than the official application of the temple trust were also used to collect donations,” he said.

The law and judiciary department has been directed to file a criminal case against the trust for alleged corruption and a team of police personnel would be sent to Ahilyanagar for investigation soon, Fadnavis stated.

“The additional director general (ADG) of Maharashtra Cyber, Yashasvi Yadav, will conduct a probe regarding the use of bogus mobile apps,” he said.

The charity commissioner’s office was also holding a hearing regarding corruption at the temple and was expected to take appropriate action, Fadnavis informed the assembly.

“We had conducted a special audit of the temple after receiving complaints earlier and an officer from the charity commission had given them a clean chit, which will also be probed,” he said.