TV
An online platform has allegedly duped devotees of Lord Jagannath of lakhs of rupees in the name of conducting puja through a mobile application.
As per reports, the online platform – Utsav has been collecting money from several devotees on a monthly basis as a donation for Srimandir and with the promise of offering puja.
During the time of the ongoing world-famous Rath Yatra in Puri when devotees across the globe, soaked in devotion, are desperate to have a glance at the deities and offer worship to them, the online platform has duped many devotees by offering them the false opportunity of online worship in various categories.
To offer ‘Bhoga’ to the Lord atop the chariot, the online platform is charging Rs 4,500 from the devotees while Rs 2,401 is being charged to offer a special puja at Srimandir. Similarly, devotees are being charged Rs 2151 and Rs 801 for ‘Dhwaja Bandha’ and ‘Nama and Gotra Sankalpa’ in Srimandir respectively. Moreover, the fake online platform is charging Rs 11,501 for the non-existent ‘Atika Bandha’ ritual.
As per reports, as many as 3,700 devotees have fallen prey to the fake online platform by transferring different amounts for conducting different rituals at Srimandir. The online platform is being operated from West Bengal.
In protest against the operation of the fraud online platform, Jagannath Sena staged a protest in front of Gundicha temple on Friday. Demanding stern action against the fraudsters, the volunteers of the organisation also lodged a police complaint.
“An online platform named- Utsav operating from West Bengal has cheated several devotees by taking donations from them for Srimandir. On the false promise of performing different rituals during the Rath Yatra, they are also charging different amounts in different categories. The bogus platform started its operation on June 16, 2023. I traced it out on the day of Rath Yatra,” said Sambhunath Khuntia, a servitor of Lord Jagannath.
“It’s quite unfortunate that the fraudsters played with the emotion of devotees by taking the name of Lord Jagannath. Stern action should be taken against the fraudsters,” he added.
