JAMMU — Amid the row over Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir donation theft, a court in Jammu and Kashmir has directed the J&K Crime Branch to produce records related to over Rs 550 crore worth of “fake silver” offerings at the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.
The court issued the directions while hearing a plea seeking registration of an FIR into the alleged misappropriation, substitution, pilferage and adulteration of silver offerings made by devotees at the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.
In May, the shrine board sent around 20 tonnes of silver offerings, estimated to be worth Rs 550 crore, to a government mint for standard melting and storage. During the process, it was reportedly found that the silver dispatched by the shrine board was fake and that only 5% of the 20 tonnes was established as real silver.
Metal tests revealed that almost 95% of the silver turned out to be cadmium and iron.
Initially, it was believed that devotees had unknowingly offered fake silver at the shrine. However, advocate Deepak Sharma, in his complaint to the Inspector General of the Crime Branch, alleged the substitution and misappropriation of silver offerings.
In the complaint filed on May 9, Sharma alleged a “criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, and manipulation of official records” and demanded the registration of an FIR, along with the preservation of all records and evidence.
Aggrieved by the alleged inaction of the Crime Branch, the lawyer approached the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Jammu, seeking action by the Crime Branch and a thorough investigation.
While the Crime Branch, in its status report, stated that the complaint had already been forwarded to the Crime Department Headquarters in Srinagar for approval and that necessary action was being taken, the complainant claimed that the Crime Branch was legally bound to register an FIR and initiate an investigation.
The complainant has sought the preservation of all records, including CCTV footage, and records related to the collection, storage and transportation of the material. He has also sought assay reports, electronic data, and evidence related to the testing and melting of the silver offerings.
After hearing the matter, the court directed the Inquiry Officer (IO) of the Crime Branch to remain personally present on the next date of hearing, July 29, along with all records.
The complainant said he wanted to ascertain whether genuine offerings made by devotees were substituted and pilfered, or whether devotees had unknowingly purchased fake silver and offered it at the shrine.
More than nine million devotees trek to the cave shrine in the Trikuta Hills in Katra. Many of them make gold and silver offerings at the shrine. “No devotee will ever offer fake silver at the shrine. It needs a thorough investigation to uncover a massive fraud,” the lawyer said.
He said that against silver offerings estimated to be worth around Rs 550 crore at the shrine, the value dropped to just Rs 30 crore after the metal was found to be adulterated with cheaper metals and cadmium. — (NDTV)