Rs 88 lakh of Vrindavan temple funds misappropriated by woman

Mathura (UP): A woman allegedly misappropriated Rs 88 lakh of emergency fund of Thakur Radha Madhav Divya Desh, also known as Rangji temple, police said here on Tuesday.

The accused woman is associated with the temple trust, the Mahant of the temple, Swami Anantacharya, said in his complaint. An FIR on the matter was lodged in Vrindavan Kotwali on Monday, they said.

Anantacharya had made Gujarat resident Damayanti Ben Patel as the in-charge of the Krishna Bhakti Prachar Sangh linked to the temple located in Chaitanya Vihar, Vrindavan. All decisions regarding the Sangh were taken by Patel, he said in the FIR.

Inspector in-charge of Vrindavan Kotwali, Anand Kumar Shahi said Anantacharya has accused the woman of defrauding him of Rs 88 lakh, which were deposited in a fixed deposit account in his and Patel's name. She withdrew money from the account without informing him, the Mahant has alleged.

When asked to come to the temple to discuss the matter of the funds, Patel did not come, Anantacharya said. Police said a probe on the matter is underway.