Duplicate Keys Of Inner Ratna Bhandar Found!

Puri: In the wake of the statewide resentment over the missing keys of the inner Ratna Bhandar, Puri Collector Arvind Agarwal on Wednesday informed that a set of ‘duplicate’ keys has been found inside the locker of the District Record Room.

Talking to the media, Agarwal said two teams, comprising three members each, had been looking for the keys for the last five days. They found the keys kept inside a brown envelope on which it was written ‘duplicate keys of Ratna Bhandar’, he added.

However, devotees, temple servitors and political parties are not convinced.

According to Shri Jagannath Temple Act, the keys of the inner Ratna Bhandar should remain under the custody of the District Treasury. But these were found from the District Record Room locker. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had also confirmed that there are no duplicate keys of the Ratna Bhandar.

If SJTA is to be believed, it is to be seen whether the keys which have been found are original.

Senior servitor of the Jagannath Temple Binayak Dasmohapatra said the temple administration should open the inner Ratna Bhandar and check the number and volume of the ornaments and compare with the inventory made in 1985.