Temple Refuses To Return Devotee’s IPhone That ‘Accidentally’ Fell Into Donation Box, Says It Belongs To Deity

Chennai: A Tamil Nadu temple reportedly rejected a devotee’s request to return his iPhone after it accidentally fell into the “hundi” (donation box) at the temple. According to reports, the authorities told him that anything dropped into the donation box “belongs to the deity”.

Dinesh, a resident of Vinayagapuram, visited the Arulmigu Kandaswamy temple at Thiruporur near Chennai last month with his family, the Times of India reported.

After worshipping the deity, he went to drop some money into the hundi. When he was taking out notes from his shirt’s pocket, the Apple device fell into the donation box. He had reportedly approached temple officials to return the same. But he was told that once an offering is dropped into the hundi, it becomes a “property” of the deity, the TOI report stated. According to the tradition, the hundi is opened only once in two months, they told him. Dinesh lodged a complaint with the HR and CE (Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments) officials.

On Friday, when the temple authorities opened the box after two months, Dinesh went to retrieve his gadget. But the authorities maintained the same stance and reportedly refused to give back his phone. However, he was given the option to take the SIM card.
Dinesh, who had already purchased a new SIM card, left it to the authorities.

“We are not clear whether he (Dinesh) dropped it (iPhone) as an offering and later changed his mind, because the hundi is well protected by an iron fence,” temple’s executive officer said, as quoted by Hindustan Times.