Probe commission sets August 7 deadline for missing key of Ratna Bhandar

PURI: The Justice Raghubir Das Commission of Inquiry, constituted to probe the missing of key of inner chamber of Sri Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar, held its first sitting here on Monday. 

While the Commission had invited information, grievances and suggestions on the issue by July 25, temple chief administrator PK Mahapatra and Collector Arvind Agarwal informed that they intend to file a 300-page report about the missing key. Justice Das allowed them to file the report in the form of an affidavit before the Commission’s next sitting on August 7.

He said the Commission has so far received only four affidavits but none of them contained any information that could help in the probe.

The missing of Bhitar Ratna Bhandar key was reported by Agarwal in the temple managing committee meeting held soon after the ASI expert team’s return as the door could not be opened. The team had earlier been directed by Orissa High Court to examine the extent of damage to the Ratna Bhandar structure.

On April 4, Puri administration informed the Jagannath temple administration that despite search, the missing key could not be found.

However, on June 13, the administration claimed to have recovered a set of duplicate keys inside an envelope from the District Record Room. The traced key set was found in a red envelope which bore the seal and signature of temple ADM dated 1985.

It is presumed that the key was deposited by the then ADM in the District Record Room instead of being returned to the record room of the District Treasury which is its rightful place. Government had formed the judicial commission to examine the sequence of events leading to missing of the key.