In a shocking incident, a video showing donation theft at the Gaali Anjaneya Swamy Temple in Bengaluru’s Byatarayanapura has gone viral on social media. The viral video shows two people tallying the temple’s donations, with one surreptitiously passing the other a bundle of cash.
An X user whose post went viral said: “This is why Government should handover the administrative duties to the temples.. Here in Gaali Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Bengaluru, administration staff is pocketing money while it’s counted.. and after few seconds picked up another bundle and handing it over to another guy.. Shame.”
In another video, the same person is seen stealing more cash and handing it over to someone who appears to be a priest based on his clothes. The incident has sparked outrage on social media.
This is why Government should handover the administrative duties to the temples..
— 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝑰𝒚𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒓 (@IyengarShashank) September 27, 2024
Here in GaaLi Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Bengaluru, administration staff is pocketing money while it’s counted.. and after few seconds picked up another bundle and handing it over to another guy.. Shame pic.twitter.com/fI1RF27Dyx
Amidst the outrage, the temple’s head priest, Ramachandra told the media that the incident in question occurred more than a year ago. The temple management acted quickly at the time.
Consequently, two executive committee members were suspended for their involvement in the fund embezzlement, and two cooks were found to have been involved in the plot and barred from returning to the temple.
Meanwhile, an IndiaToday report cited local authorities saying that an FIR was filed in this incident in June this year based on the viral video in question. It added that an investigation is underway to identify and arrest the accused.