FIR Launched against Priests of the Deval Ganagapur temple for creating fake websites to collect money from devotees
In Karnataka, FIR has been launched against five priests of the Deval Ganagapur temple. They were alleged to have created 6 to 7 fake websites and have also been collecting money from the devotees who visited or used the websites. The Deval Ganagapur temple comes under the Muzrai department. The fraudulent website was made using the name of the state-run Muzrai department’s Shri Dattatreya temple.
The priests asked the devotees to pay Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 for various puja and rituals which actually cost about less than Rs 1000.
When Yashwant Gurukar, the president of the Dattatreya temple development committee, decided to visit the temple to examine the official temple website, he discovered these fraudulent practices.
During the last 6 years, the priests collected about Rs 20 crores from the devotees through the websites.
