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Siddhivinayak Temple Trust calls for audit after MNS chief Raj Thackeray claimed donation theft
The audit comes after MNS chief Raj Thackeray said that trustees of the temple had written to Eknath Shinde, alleging a theft of ₹18 cr from the donation box.
Following donation theft allegations by MNS chief Raj Thackeray, the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust called for an audit into the increase in the donation amount to the temple in the last two years. The Trust added that eight people were also arrested in the case, but were later granted bail by a Mumbai court.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, a trustee said that several employees were suspended for receiving bribes for VIP darshan and added that police action was also taken against those accused.
"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,” Trust President Sada Sarvankar said, news agency ANI reported.
"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,” Sarvankar added.
What did Raj Thackeray allege?
The audit comes after MNS chief Raj Thackeray claimed donation theft at the temple. Speaking at the 20th anniversary of his party’s student wing on Saturday, Thackeray said that trustees of the Siddhivinayak Temple at Prabhadevi had written to deputy CM Eknath Shinde, alleging a theft of ₹18 crore from the donation box.
The MNS chief read out the letter written by eight of the temple’s 11 trustees, which included Shiv Sena members Rahul Londhe and Meena Kambli and chairperson Sarvankar.
"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?,” Raj said at the event.
Also Read: Siddhivinayak temple staff siphoned off ₹10,000 daily in donation box racket in Mumbai
He also launched an attack on the BJP, saying that the party has been quiet on allegations of donation theft, including the loot in the Ayodhya Ram temple.
“PM Modi, who alone performed the rituals during the Ram temple work, has not uttered a word,” he said. “Similarly, in Siddhivinayak, temple trustees have written a letter to Dy CM Shinde demanding a probe into the loot of temple donations.”
Thackeray also claimed that members of the trust were also involved in the theft. “After these employees were caught, the average donation amount has increased significantly,” he said. “According to their letter, around ₹18 crore was being looted annually. This should be probed.”
Trust head denies allegations
Siddhivinayak Trust chairman Sada Sarvankar, who is also a leader of the Shinde Sena, refuted the allegations and insisted that Raj Thackeray had misinterpreted the letter. “There was no complaint about a ₹18-crore scam,” he said. “After we found out that some employees were misappropriating donations, we took action against nine employees. We also took action against employees who were taking money from devotees for arranging quick darshans. Due to the reforms and improvements in the management of the Siddivinayak Temple, the donations have increased in the last two years.”
Trustee Rahul Londhe told HT that the trustees, all belonging to Mahayuti parties, had demanded an audit of the temple trust during Uddhav Thackeray’s CMship. “In a review meeting, we realised that the malpractices were happening with the involvement of longtime employees, nine of whom we then monitored and nabbed,” he said. “This means that during the earlier regime, the same employees must have been stealing from the donation boxes. So we wrote a letter to Dy CM Shinde and demanded an audit of that period.”
Londhe said that after the employees were caught, the weekly donation amount, which used to be around ₹50 lakh per week, increased to above ₹75 lakh and even ₹95 lakh sometimes.
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.
(With inputs from HT correspondent)
