Case Registered Against Amazon For Selling ‘Nirmalya’ Online

Puri: Trouble seems to be deepening for e-Commerce giant Amazon with Puri's Singhadwar police on Friday registering a case against the company for its advertisement to sell 'Nirmalya or dry Mahaprasad of Lord Jagannath through online mode.

Based on the complaint of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and servitor group Suara-Mahasuara Nijog, the police have registered the case thereby opening the doors for a probe into the case.

The SJTA and a group of servitors of the 12th century shrine alleged that Amazon has not taken permission from the temple authorities before publishing advertisement to sell the divine food.

"The Amazon has advertised to sell the Nirmalya through online mode without prior permission of the Sri Jagannath temple Administration. It is an insult to the Prasad of Lord Jagannath. Bid to sell it online is violating the sanctity and piety of the Nirmalya. It also hurts religious sentiments of lakhs of Jagannath devotees," said Jitendra Sahoo, Administrator (rituals), SJTA.

"We have registered a case at Singhadwar police station under various sections of Sri Jagannath Temple Act and IPC and requested the police to initiate necessary action against Amazon," he added.

The secretary of Suara Mahasuara Nijog, Krushana Chandra Pratihari, said, “Jagannath temple has remained closed for the last nine months due to Covid-19 pandemic. So, Nirmalya is not available anywhere now. It remains a mystery as to how Amazon managed to procure the ‘Prasad’. We suspect cooked homemade foods are being sold in the name of the Nirmalya.”

Earlier, a Puri-based lawyer Biswajit Pradhan had also slapped a legal notice to the e-Commerce firm, giving it 20 days time to reply in connection with the matter. He also mentioned that in case of failure to respond over the matter, legal action will be taken against the company.

According to sources, some servitors levelled allegations few days ago that Nirmalya also known as dry Mahaprasad was being sold on Amazon website at Rs 59 per packet containing 25 grams with a delivery charge of Rs 50.

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