Puri: The Shree Jagannath temple administration (SJTA) has issued charge sheet to nine Daitas and a Maharana servitor in connection with the Bramha Paribartan ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings for dereliction in duty in October, 2015.
The ritual (shifting of soul from old bodies and placing those in new ones) which as per religious manual was to be performed in the midnight was held next day noon because of in-fight between two sections of Daita servitors over Bramha darshan.
This sent shock waves across the state among Jagannath devotees while residents of Puri observed a bandh demanding a probe. The state government appointed the then chief administrator Suresh Chandra
Mahapatra to investigate the incident and after prolonged delay Mahapatra submitted his report to the temple managing body indicting about 10 Daitas for the mishap.
They included president of Daitapati Nijog Ramakrushna Dasmahapatra, secretary Premananda Dasmahapatra, Nabakishore Dasmahapatra, Biswanath Dasmahapatra, Krushnachandra Dasmahapatra, Kasinath Dasmhapatra and Jaikrushna Dasmahapatra.
A three-member panel of the temple body studied the report and opined to take punitive actions against the Daitas named in the report. Earlier, temple administration had issued show cause notice to ten Daitas and a Maharana servitor to file their statements while initiating proceedings under section 21(b) of Sri Jagannath Temple Act.
The written statements filed by the Daitas were found without merit, the chief administrator observed. The charge sheet stated that on three counts prima facie charges against them were established and they were asked why they would not be prosecuted under 21(b) of the
Sri Jagannath Temple Act which empowers the chief administrator to suspend or dismiss the guilty servitors from rendering service in the temple and their all dues would be held.
Meanwhile, the chief administrator has issued strong-worded letters to all the Nijogs (associations of various sections of temple servitors) asking them to perform their respective duties in the temple as per the given time or else their
wages would be held back and they may be suspended from rendering religious service.
This letter was the outcome of the last December 28 incident when the servitors did not open the doors of the sanctum sanctorum for over twelve hours and the three deities went without food