Chief priest of Bodh Gaya based-Mahabodhi Temple Management Committee Bhadant Bodhipal is in troubled waters. The Chief Judicial Magistrate of the district, Jamuna Prasad Singh has taken cognisance against the Buddhist priest for his involvement in the cutting down of a branch of Mahabodhi tree.

Lord Buddha had attained ‘enlightenment’ under the same Mahabodhi tree, and, therefore, the UNESCO had declared it a World Heritage.

In July 2006, one of the branches of the tree was found missing. A Buddhist monk moved the court of CJM alleging that the branch of the sacred tree was chopped off on the instruction of Bhadant Bodhipal. A probe found that the charges against the chief priest were true. The court will now take up the matter on December 15.