Mysore/Mysuru: Following reports of a memorial being constructed for elephant Arjuna, social media has been rife with allegations that lakhs of rupees were deposited into the private account of H.N. Naveen, a social media influencer, under the pretext of funding the memorial.

People have alleged that funds were misappropriated even before the memorial’s construction began. A WhatsApp group named ‘Arjuna Pade’ was created to solicit money for the memorial. Many donations were made, with cash being deposited into Naveen’s personal Bank account, according to the allegations.

Sagar Janekere, President of the Malenadu Rakshana Vedike, has complained to the Forest Department in Sakleshpur, seeking action against Naveen. He has urged people not to donate money to the memorial and called for Government intervention to seize the collected funds.

‘Allegations unfounded’

Refuting the accusations, Naveen informed Star of Mysore this morning that while he indeed initiated a WhatsApp group to gather funds for establishing a permanent memorial for Arjuna, the allegations of misappropriation are unfounded.

“We began accepting contributions from May 1 and till date, we have collected over Rs. 80,000,” he stated. “We procured black granite stones from Bengaluru, which amounted to over Rs. 50,000, including transportation costs. However, we only accepted Rs. 30,000 from the Forest Department, which covers the actual expense of the granite.”

“Due to the Forest Department’s denial of permission to construct a permanent memorial, which would have included granite slabs and a statue of Arjuna, we have decided to drop the project,”                       Naveen clarified.

“All financial transactions have been conducted transparently and I will provide a detailed statement to the media at a press conference tomorrow. Any surplus funds that have not been utilised will be refunded to the donors, as we have a record of all online transactions,” he said.