KATHMANDU, JUNE 26
In a bid to find possible irregularities during the gold jalhari installation at Pashupatinath temple, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority weighed a total of 107.46 kilograms of gold used at the sacred linga.
The CIAA, in coordination with officials from Gold and Silver Dealers' Association and officials from mines and geology had started to weigh the gold used as jalhari from last night. There was widespread rumour that more than 10 kilograms of gold was embezzled during the jalhari installation process supposed to be using nearly 108 kilograms of gold.
The weighed gold is slightly less than the exact 107.76 kilograms that the authorities had claimed to have used for the jalhari at the sacred linga of Pashupatinath temple.
High-level officers of Pashupati Area Development Trust told THT that the official measurement proved their claim that there was no foul play in the use of gold at Pashupatinath temple. The official decision on the weight, however, has not yet been disclosed. The CIAA has recorded the reading of the measurement for further investigation into the case.
The use of gold at the sacred place, where only priests are allowed to enter, came into controversy from the very beginning. In mid-July 2021, the CIAA had started investigation into the use of 108-kilogram gold at the sacred linga following a complaint. The CIAA had also recorded statement from numerous people related to the case. However, the issue resurfaced recently after PADT's Member Secretary Milan Kumar Thapa was questioned about the process at the National Concerns and Coordination Committee of the National Assembly by lawmakers.
The CIAA officials actually undid the gold work from the linga and reweighed it.
On 25 January 2021, then prime minister KP Sharma Oli had decided to provide Rs 300 million to place the 108-kilogram golden jalhari. The PADT then immediately decided to provide an additional of Rs 500 million required to buy the gold. Interestingly enough, the then minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had released the amount within a few days and work had started immediately without the knowledge of many.
The issue became controversial after people started criticising the decision citing various reasons, including possible embezzlement in the process. People also filed a case at the Supreme Court demanding stay order on the process. On February 24, then president Bidhya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the incomplete jalhari installation. The court was supposed to give a verdict on the case the same day. A few hours later, the stay order was issued.
Meanwhile, the CIAA has filed a case at the Special Court against former member secretary of PADT Pradip Dhakal accusing him of earning illegitimate wealth when he took the topmost position while managing all administrative and religious functions of the Pashupatinath temple.
The CIAA has sought the principal amount of Rs 14.4 million from accused Dhakal and similar punishment in the case.
READ: Former PADT secy booked for graft
Dhakal was nominated member secretary by former cultural minister Jitendra Dev Dhakal and remained at the office for five years from 16 August 2017 to 13 June 2022.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 27, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
