Nashik: In a case of cheating a devotee by luring him with the promise of VIP darshan, a trustee of the Trimbakeshwar Temple and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) State Youth Vice President Purushottam Kadlag has been arrested. This action by the Trimbakeshwar police has created a major stir in the district’s political circles.
According to the information received, a case was registered last Saturday after a devotee was allegedly cheated on the pretext of arranging VIP darshan. In this connection, FIR had been lodged at the Trimbakeshwar Police Station against two persons. One of the accused, Gotiram Manaji Pehere (resident of Khadakwadi, Taluka Trimbakeshwar), had already been arrested, while the second accused, Abhishek Kadlag (resident of Trimbakeshwar), was absconding.
However, local police had found leads indicating the involvement of trustee Purushottam Kadlag in this black-marketing racket. Based on these clues, the police arrested him on Monday night. The fact that a temple trustee himself was allegedly involved in running such an illegal darshan racket has sparked anger among devotees.
At Trimbakeshwar, devotees arrive from various places for दर्शन. The temple trust officially charges ₹200 for VIP darshan. However, some agents were allegedly operating to provide immediate darshan, charging anywhere between ₹3,000 and ₹12,000.
“We received information about this malpractice. Acting on the orders of the temple committee chairman and the judge, we carried out a sting operation and recorded how devotees were being looted by taking ₹3,000 for darshan. Based on the financial exploitation of devotees, temple committee trustee Purushottam Kadlag was arrested last night. This entire racket involves several people, and if more trustees are found involved, they too will be investigated,” says Balasaheb Patil, Superintendent of Police, Nashik
