PURI: The State Commissioner of Endowment has constituted a five-member trust board for Emar Mutt to look after its religious services rendered to Sri Jagannath temple and its own festivities besides management of its property.
According to a letter of the Commissioner, the five-member body will comprise Jagannath culture researcher Naresh Chandra Dash, social activist Pratima Mishra, advocate Banabihari Sahu and the Executive Engineer of Roads and Buildings of Puri as members while Mahant of Jhanjapita Mutt Sachidanand Das would be the head.
In 2011, Emar Mutt Mahant Rajgopal Ramanuj Das and others were arrested by police in connection with the theft of silver ingots from the mutt and sent to jail.
Police in presence of the district magistrate had recovered 522 pieces of silver ingots weighing over 18 tonne and worth `100 crore from a secret room of the mutt.A fter the Mahant was arrested and sent to jail, the Endowment Commissioner had constituted an ad-hoc body of trustees to ensure continuance of the mutt’s religious services. Later, a permanent body were formed.
Mahant Rajgopal was later released on bail and is currently residing in the mutt complex. Recently, the buildings in the mutt complex were marked unsafe and razed to ground by the district administration. During the demolition drive, Rajgopal refused to vacate his 10-room residence in the mutt, which has also been declared unsafe.
Sources said the Mahant has little say in the management of mutt affairs and a criminal case is also pending against him.The new board was constituted after the tenure of the last board expired recently.