The Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by retired judge of Orissa High Court Justice Raghubir Dash to probe into missing keys of inner chamber of the Puri Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar officially began functioning from here on Wednesday.
A notification inviting statements of facts and supported by affidavits was published on the day in which the commission fixed July 25 as the last date for receiving the affidavits.
“There will be a sitting of the commission at the Puri Circuit House on July 30 to determine the procedure to be adopted in the inquiry,” Justice Dash told reporters here after attending the office of the inquiry at the Circuit House here.
Following a hue and cry over the missing keys of the lords’ treasury in the temple, the State Government ordered a judicial inquiry into it and subsequently, Justice Dash was appointed to head the probe panel.
The commission, among other things, has been asked to examine the sequence of events and circumstances leading to the reported non-availability of the keys and the role, conduct and accountability of individuals or groups or the authorities for it.
While Jagannath lovers across the globe expressed concern over the missing keys and were apprehensive about the precious jewelleries and stones kept in the treasury, the Government was forced to replace the temple Chief Administrator, a senior IAS officer.
The controversy, however, did not end there. Soon, the Puri district Collector, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Temple Management Committee, came out with a startling revelation that duplicate keys of the Ratna Bhandar were retrieved from the Government Record Room.
As per the Shree Jagannath Temple Rules of 1960, the gold, silver, precious stones and other jewelleries which are never used, shall remain under double lock in the inner chamber with the seal of the committee, the keys being deposited by the Administrator in the Government treasury.
It is not yet known as to how the duplicate keys of the inner chamber were made and how they were kept in the Record Room and not in the Government treasury.
Even, the terms of reference of the Inquiry Commission have no mention about it.