Puri Jagannath temple suspends senior servitor, denies him entry to shrine for 30 days

Puri/Kolkata: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Sunday suspended senior servitor Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra for 30 days and barred him from entering the 12th-century Puri temple after he attended the consecration ceremony of Digha Jagannath Temple in West Bengal and was accused of indiscipline.

An official statement by SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said Dasmahapatra had been suspended from all temple duties and prohibited from performing rituals at the Puri Jagannath Temple for a month.

Dasmohapatra, who also serves as the secretary of the Daitapati Nijog — a group of servitors who act as the ceremonial bodyguards of the deities during the annual Rath Yatra — has been instructed not to influence or threaten any servitor or individual in an attempt to obstruct temple services or rituals during the suspension period.

"If he does so, the suspension period will be extended and stricter disciplinary action will be taken. During this period, the commander and senior supervisor of the temple will regularly report to Padhee on Dasmahapatra's conduct," the statement added.

The order also stated that if Dasmohapatra's "disorderly" behaviour is observed during the suspension period and thereafter, the temple administration will cancel or suspend the allowances/pay/awards he is entitled.

Prior to the disciplinary action, the SJTA had issued two show-cause notices to Dasmahapatra.

The first, dated May 4, directed him to explain within seven days why he allegedly violated temple tradition by crafting idols for the Digha Jagannath Temple using sacred wood collected during the Nabakalebara festival in 2015 — an act that hurt the religious sentiments of devotees worldwide.

He was also questioned for allegedly making "disorderly" and "irresponsible" remarks on a Bengali television channel, where he initially claimed to have crafted the idols for Digha temple with the surplus sacred wood of Puri temple. However, he later denied the allegation.

The state government through an inquiry found that Dasmohapatra had lied to the Bengali channel and the idols for Digha temple were crafted by a carpenter in Bhubaneswar, state Law Minister Pritihiviarj Harichandan had told reporters.

A second notice was issued on May 9, asking Dasmohapatra to explain why he attended the consecration event at the Digha temple in his capacity as a Puri servitor, and whether he objected to the temple being referred to as a "Dham" by the Digha Jagannath Temple Trust.

Chief Administrator Padhee emphasised the decision aims to uphold order and discipline within the temple premises.

"It is the duty of all of us to uphold the tradition, rituals and dignity of the temple keeping self above pride and arrogance and this should be a demonstration of our devotion to Lord Jagannath. In the coming days also, no kind of disorder will be tolerated," Padhee said.

Taking to X, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati said, "Shri Jagannathpuri situated in Utkal (now Odisha) province is Shri Jagannath-Dham. Use of this fact somewhere else is completely inappropriate".

Leader of the opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, welcomed the decision to suspend Dasmahapatro "in light of his unethical involvement in the Digha Jagannath Cultural Center controversy".

In a post on X, Adhikari said, "He (Dasmohapatro) got influenced by Mamata Banerjee and provided unauthorised guidance for the replication of Puri Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath Dham’s sacred rituals and traditions, which later led to absolutely inappropriate misleading campaign by the local administration, by projecting the Digha Cultural Center as a site which would rival the Puri Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath Dham."

Dasmohapatra has deeply hurt the religious sentiments of millions of devotees worldwide, he said.

"This suspension sends a strong message, that the sanctity of our revered Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath Dham in Puri, must be upheld. The Sanatani Community would certainly be happy about the decision," he added.