Mandya: Reports and allegations of a priest stealing sarees from the historic Nimishamba Temple at Ganjam near Srirangapatna got a twist yesterday with the priest claiming that one of the Temple Managing Committee Members was blackmailing him for money.

The priest claimed that the CCTV footages that recorded the theft were being used by the Managing Committee Member to blackmail him and that the member had demanded money.

A controversy broke following reports of the theft of sarees donated by the devotees to the Goddess. The sarees were stolen at the time of Cauvery Pushkara Mela that was held at  Srirangapatna last month and the theft was reportedly captured by CCTV cameras installed at the temple premises.

Following the revelation, a security guard of the temple was suspended. Devotees had alleged that though the temple Executive Officer has seen the visuals and the temple management was aware of the theft, attempts are made to bury the theft and the security person has been suspended while the priest is being shielded.

At an emergency meeting of the Temple Managing Committee held yesterday, several devotees accused the temple management of shielding the priest and said that the CCTV visuals that were recorded on the day of the theft went missing as the management wanted to protect the priest.

The Managing Committee then questioned the priest who denied his role in the theft. As some devotees demanded action against the priest, he was asked to explain his stand.

Replying to the allegations, the priest said that one of the Managing Committee members had the CCTV visuals and he was blackmailing him (priest) for money.

The priest said that he would file a defamation case against the Managing Committee Member. As the priest was speaking, the Managing Committee Member who was accused of blackmail quietly made an exit from the meeting and left the place on his scooter. This led to murmurs at the meeting.

The temple management later unanimously decided to issue a show-cause notice to the priest.

Saree count begins

After the saree theft came to light, the Temple Executive Officer has begun the task of counting the sarees donated by the devotees. Yesterday, the officer entered the room of the temple priest with record books and began entering the number of sarees and also prepared bill for the sarees donated.

The sarees that were donated at the time of Cauvery Pushkara Mela held at Srirangapatna were locked inside the priest’s room and none of the sarees were billed. Interestingly, the Executive Officer had told media persons that there was ‘nothing’ inside the room.

Surprisingly, the task of counting sarees began late yesterday after everyone left the temple.