BHUBANESWAR: Twelve persons, including four devotees, have been arrested by Puri Police for allegedly attempting to enter the Shree Jagannath Temple carrying fake RT-PCR reports, production of which is mandatory for ‘darshan’ at the 12th-century shrine.
Two of the devotees are natives of Madhya Pradesh and one each is from Chhattisgarh and Angul.
Apart from the devotees, police also apprehended seven other persons and the mastermind of the racket involved in issuing fake RT-PCR negative reports. Such reports were being issued for Rs 500 to Rs 700 each by reportedly using names of different hospitals.
The police acted after receiving information that some devotees were trying to enter the temple by showing fake RT-PCR reports which were apparently issued by private establishments having desktop computers and printers. The RT-PCR reports appeared to be genuine and carried the Aadhaar card details of the devotees carrying them.
"Acting on a tip-off, the accused were intercepted and the RT-PCR reports were scrutinised. Some hospitals were contacted as their names were on the test reports but so far their involvement in the offence has not been established," Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh told The New Indian Express.
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On August 27, Singhadwara police first arrested two natives of Madhya Pradesh and then two residents of Puri for assisting them to obtain fake RT-PCR reports. Pursuing the matter, Kumbharapada police nabbed a native of Chhattisgarh and two Puri residents on September 6 for providing him with a false Covid-19 test report.
Subsequently, Singhadwara police again intercepted a devotee on September 8 carrying a fake RT-PCR report. The devotee from Angul was held along with the mastermind of the racket and three others. Two cases have been registered at Singhadwara police and one at Kumbharapada police station under Sections 465, 471, 120B, and 34 of IPC.
Puri SP Singh has warned that stringent legal action will be initiated against those found to be involved in such malpractices. “Police is continuing the investigation. Some computers and other articles have been seized. Raids are continuing and efforts are on to nab the other accused involved in the racket, he added.
The Srimandir opened on August 13 exclusively for families of servitors. Locals of Puri Town were allowed darshan of the deities between August 16 and 20. >From August 23 onwards, every devotee wishing to have darshan of the Trinity has to produce the certificate of complete vaccination or negative report of RT-PCR test obtained within 96 hours at the entry kiosk.