New Delhi: After silver offerings worth around Rs 500 crore at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine were allegedly found to be fake during refining, a Jammu court is looking into a petition seeking an investigation. The allegations have also shaken local shopkeepers, who are demanding that the truth be uncovered.
“Most devotees buy silver only from Jammu. Now they are saying that most of the silver is fake, which will raise questions about us as well. This is heartbreaking. Someone stole the silver, and they must be held accountable,” Mohit Sharma, who has a jewellery shop in Katra, told ThePrint.
On Monday, the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Jammu directed the Crime Branch inquiry officer to appear in person with records related to the alleged fake silver offerings. The matter will be heard next on 29 July.
The petition, filed by advocate Deepak Sharma, comes in the wake of reports in April that preliminary tests at a government mint had found only 5-6 per cent silver in around 20 tonnes of offerings sent there by the Shrine Board for melting and processing. The reports, citing mint officials, said the silver content was worth only around Rs 20-30 crore, against an estimated consignment value of Rs 500-550 crore. The claims have not been independently verified.
“Lakhs of devotees come to Vaishno Devi from places like Meerut, Haryana, Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune. Had this silver come from one person or one place, it would have been a different matter. But when offerings from lakhs of people are said to be fake, the question is—where did this happen? Was the silver replaced inside the Shrine Board, during transportation or at the government mint?” Sharma told reporters this week.
Sharma also cited reports that the allegedly fake silver contained cadmium, a toxic metal.
“Cadmium is a highly restricted chemical. How could so many people or shopkeepers procure cadmium, make fake silver and have it all end up at the feet of the Goddess? I could not find answers to these questions. That is why I sought an investigation,” he said.
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‘This is not new’
Sharma filed a complaint with the Crime Branch in May, but alleges that despite the passage of over two months, no FIR was registered and no meaningful investigation was carried out. Instead, the Crime Branch’s status report merely states that the complaint was forwarded to another police agency, according to him.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also raised concerns over the issue and said it plans to organise a meeting to discuss the matter.
“This is not new. It has been going on for three months. There are CCTV cameras all over the temple, and the priests there cannot even take Rs 100 in their hands. It is very difficult to find out what went wrong, but the matter must be investigated. We will soon hold a meeting and decide how to take this forward,” said Karthik, a member of the VHP in Jammu.
The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has not commented publicly on the matter.
The controversy comes weeks after allegations of theft and mismanagement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya led to an SIT investigation and eight arrests.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)