Puri: Puri Jagannath temple servitor Ipsit Pratihari, who had alleged that some of the stones affixed to the seat of the Lords inside the temple had gone missing, Thursday recorded his statement before Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
Also read: ASI hands over old photos to SJTA over Ratna Singhasan missing stones incident
SJTA had earlier issued a notice on Pratihari for appearance in person and get his statement recorded. Accordingly, the servitor appeared before SJTA deputy administrator (revenue) Subrat Kumar Behera.
In his written statement to SJTA, Pratihari mentioned, “I had my turn for serving the Lords July 6 when I noticed few stones were missing. After having a discussion with some of the other servitors, I had sent a complaint to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik few days back”.
While Pratihari was unable to say when exactly the stones were taken out from Ratna Singhasan, he mentioned that cosmetic repair work was done on the divine altar hurriedly, a source informed.
Notably, the missing stone as alleged by Pratihari had one and a half lotus petals carved on it. The stone was earlier located in front of Lord Jagannath and Sudarshan before it allegedly went missing. Following the allegation, SJTA has started an investigation into the matter.
PNN