Govardhan, 2019.06.12 (VT): Govardhan’s famous Daanghati Temple’s treasury was sealed on Saturday and the computer rooms were closed following the ongoing dispute over mismanagement of temple wealth. The orders issued by additional chief judicial magistrate, Amar Singh, were executed by the district administration in the presence of heavy police security.
Nagendra Singh (SDM, Govardhan) and Kaliashchandra Pandey (dist. police officer) were also present during the exercise.
Responding to the petition filed by the temple’s ex-asst. manager Daalchand Chaudhary, the additional chief judicial magistrate gave the orders on Friday. In the petition, Chaudhary had claimed that the treasury contained cash worth Rs. 1.5 – 2 crores and other valuables, and hence should be sealed for protection.
CCTV cameras were installed for surveillance of the treasury and computer rooms. Two security officers were also deployed.
Here’s a brief timeline of events
- 21 May: orders issued for submitting a report against Daalchand Chaudhary
- 25 May: An investigation report accusing Chaudhary of Rs. 7.44 crore fraud filed
- 28 May: Chaudhary was arrested and sent to jail
The mismanagement of temple wealth at Daanghati started making headlines after the NGT issued strict orders for constituting the Govardhan Shrine Board. Ramakant Kaushik of Giriraj Sevak Samiti alleged that only a part of donations and offerings was deposited in the temple’s bank account by Daalchand Chaudhary between May 2017 and March 2018, with the rest being used for personal purposes. The court directed Kaushik to submit a report, following which Govardhan Police detected fraud worth Rs. 7.44 crore in the ‘seva contract’ held by Chaudhary.
