Fact-Finding Report on Huge Irregularities, illegalities,
corruption and mismanagement in Nrusinghanath
Jew Matha with alleged involvement of Commissioner of Endowment, Odisha at
Khambakul of Sangrampur village under
Balikuda Block of Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha
Since last few
months, Odisha has witnessed big expose by mass media of land
scam, crime, criminality, womanisation and sexuality
of fraud Babas ( so-called God man ), their indulgence, perversion and unholy alliance with political
people, Minister and MLAs of Ruling
Class and corrupt bureaucrats. Driven by
this mega expose, the Common
people have come
to the streets spontaneously to
exhibit their anger against fraud
Babas in form of organising violent protest against Govt. alleging patronising them, attacking
Matha, demanding their arrest and punishment. The State Govt. has reluctantly taken steps
not only arresting these fraud God man
but also seizing their properties, wealth etc. This public outrage has
encouraged the innocent people to take up the issues on their own and fight
against the illegalities of fraud Babas, Mahanta of Mathas across
the state. Ironically in many cases, the State Govt. has come to the rescue of
fraud Babas, though their forgery and land scam has been publicly exposed. The
case of forgery and illegal occupation of precious Govt. land by Swami Shankaranad Giri, president of Kriya Yoga Trust in
V.S.S. Nagar and Baba Aviram in Khandagiri area of Bhubaneswar,
capital of Odisha and silence and inaction of the State Government is the
glaring example.
Role of Civil
Society Groups
The Civil Society Groups of Odisha have not remained mere silent
spectator to this development but put
their weight behind the people’s movement and help
them carry forward their fight
against fraud Babas. They have
exposed the land scam of fraud Babas, put the information in public domain to
sensitise the people about true character of Babas and organised mass demonstration
to pressurise the Govt. to take legal action against them.
Being perturbed over the news in mass media about huge
illegalities and mismanagement of Nrusinghanath
Jew Matha at Khambakul of Sangrampur
village under Balikuda Block
of Jagatsinghpur district by Sri
Biswajit Padhi, self-claimed Mathadhisha
(head of Matha) and Mass
Dharana by the villagers
against inaction and callousness of the Commissioner of Endowment Odisha, a Eight-member Team
of Civil Society had visited
the Matha on 28.9.15 to
ascertain the fact of allegation
made by the people and to take action in case of any irregularities is noticed. The Team members are as follows:
1. Pradip
Pradhan, RTI Activist
2. Pratap
Sahu, Convener, Basti Sangharsh Samiti
3. Pradeep
Sahu, advocate
4. Sanjukta
Panigrahi, Woman Activist
5. Sachikant
Pradhan, Odisha Nagarik Samaj
6. Rohan
Mohanty, RTI Activist
7. Radhamadhab
Panda, RTI Activist
8. SwayanPrava
Das, Woman Activist
The Team Members reached in Sangram Pur
village at 12.30 and found
hundreds of the people sitting in
Dharana outside Matha demanding immediate ouster of Sri
Biswajit Padhi, self-claimed fraud Mathadhisha
and hundreds of people taking
meal inside Matha hosted by controversial Mathadhisha Sri
Padhi. However, at first, the
Team held hour-long discussion with
the villagers to understand about history of Matha and appointment of Mahanta of Matha, management of
property of Matha, reason of controversy, role of
Commission of Endowment and State
Govt., role of Local MLA and district administration etc. and verified
the documents available with them and the information obtained
through RTI. Then, the Team also visited
Matha and met Sri Biswajit Padhi, self-claimed Mathadhisha and his associates
residing inside of Matha and discussed with him to know his response about the allegations levelled
by the people of that locality.
The Team members met the following people during their
visit on fact-finding Mission to the village.
A. Bhagat
Parija
B. Natha
Kandi
C. Jagabandhu
Das
D. Kanduri
Das
E. Rabindra
Sahu
F. Debadatta Parija
G. Asit
Kumar Swain
H. Ananta
Ch. Bhoi
Details of the
Issues
Khambakula
Matha is around 800 years old Matha established
by Sri Manohar Goswami and managed
by Mahantas ( Head of Matha is called
Mahanta) in hereditary way. Matha has huge landed property of
more 800 acres of land. As big portion of the land has been encroached and
occupied by the powerful people, the landed property of Matha has been reduced
to less than 200 acres. Sri Trilochan Das was last Mahanta whose death, as
alleged by the villagers is shrouded in mystery. Sri Trilochan Das took over the charge of the
Matha and declared as Head Trustee (H.T.) of the Institution on 15.11.1996.
The controversy started centring around signing of “Chella
Swekarpatra” by Sri Trilochan
Das , Mahanta on 26.5.14 in
favour of Biswajit Padhi when he was seriously ill and admitted
in Sum Hospital for medical
treatment from 21.5.14 to 28.5.14. In the Report
issued by Sum Hospital, Bhubaneswar ( signed by Dr. Raghumani Mohanty,
Prof. & H.o.D. , Pathology and Dr.
Debahuti Mohapatra, Prof. Pathology), Mahanta Sri Das was suffering
from cancer. However, Sri Das was
discharged from Sum Hospital on 28.5.14. As alleged by the villagers, Mahanta
was admitted in different Nursingh Homes and brought to Matha by Biswajit Padhi on 20.6.15. He was tortured by Sri Padhi and died on
22.6.14. which was declared by Sri
Satyananda Padhi, Badapanda of
Matha. His death is still in mystery
as without any post-mortem, his body was cremated. The villagers suspected ill- motive
behind quick cremation of dead body of
Mahanta and alleged that
Mahanta was murdered by the vested groups led by Sri Biswajit Padhi
against whom “Chella Swekarpatra” has been signed and demanded crime branch enquiry into it. “Chella Swekarpatra” is a declaration of
accepting a man as Chela by Mahanta as his inheritor. Sri Trilochana Das, Mahanta has
declared to have accepted
Biswajit Padhi as Chella from 22.05.2010 on “ Polo
Chela Patra Dalil”. But this Dalil (document) is
not available in the
office of Endowment Commissioner,
Odisha which was exposed through RTI
query. The suspicion of the villagers about conspiracy behind murder of Mahanta got more sharpened when it was found
that “Chella
Swekarpatra” was signed on
such date when Mahanta was seriously ill and under treatment at Sum Hospital.
It is obvious to doubt that when Mahanta was seriously ill, how he exercised
signing Chella Swekarpatra. Either
Mahanta has been pressurised or his signature forged by the vested groups to capture Matha and its huge property.
On the other hand, astonishingly without verifying the authenticity of “Chella Swekarpatra”, Sri Dinabandhu Swain, Inspector of Endowment, Jagatsinghpur endorsed
the same to the Commissioner of Endowment, Bhubaneswar on 1.7.14 to accept Biswajit Padhi as Chela i.e., inheritor of
Matha which was seriously objected by the villagers.
When Biswajit Padhi took over the management of Matha,
the villagers opposed it and continued their fight to oust Sri Padhi from the management
of Matha. They wrote letter of appeal to
District Collector, SP, Jagatsingh Pur, Tahasildar, local MLA, Department of
Law and Panchayat Raj seeking their intervention for transparent management of
Matha with the involvement of the villagers.
Finding no
justice from any quarters, the villagers filed writ petition dated 18.8.2014
in Odisha High Court seeking an enquiry into it. Hearing the Writ petition case No. 15661/2014, the High Court directed to
the Commissioner of Endowment to enquire the matter and take action as per the
law. As per direction of High Court, the
Endowment Commissioner heard the matter in his office chamber by calling both
the parties and Inspector of Endowment on 28.10.14.
Then he formed an interim Management Committee headed by Inspector of Endowment
to look after management of Matha on 3.11.14. The decision and order of the
Commissioner, Endowment was intimated to Inspector of Endowment, Jagatsingh Pur
and Biswajit Padhi, controversial Chela (order
No. -9286 (2) /1164-C.M.- dated 17.11.14) and to Tahasildar, Jagatsinghpur. But the order of the Commissioner of Endowment
was not carried out and kept in files. In the meantime, Sri Biswajit Padhi got
time to take away wealth, gold, ornaments from Matha.
However, sri Biswajit Padhi challenged the
order of the Endowment Commissioner in High Court vide
case No. W.P (C) No. 24022 dated 8.12.14.
The Hon’ble Court in its order dt. 18.12.14
has issued direction to the Commissioner of Endowment, Odisha to take up spot denovo
inquiry and directed the Inspector of Endowment, Jagatsighpur to continue as interim trustee in order to preserve salvage
and protect the property of Matha along with conducting the ensuring "Nabakalabera" of the said
Matha. Interestingly, though around 10 months have
passed, the Endowment Commissioner has not yet conducted any enquiry to resolve
the matter.
But astonishingly, the Inspector of Endowment even though took over the charge of Interim
Trustee, handed over all the management power to Sri Biswajit Padhi, S/o- Satyanand Padhi,
Head priest of Sri Nrusinghanath Jew,
Khambakul Math. This decision of
Inspector of Endowment provided opportunity to suspect the role of the administration
and their unholy alliance with Sri Padhi.
It was also found that since death of Mahanta, the
villagers have been alleging the anti-Matha activities and huge misappropriation
of property and wealth of Matha by Biswajit
Padhi. They have also substantiated their allegation by obtaining
information from various offices under RTI Act. Few of their allegations
exposed through RTI are as follows.
A. “Chella Swekarpatra” is a false and forged document prepared by
Biswajit Padhi manipulating signature of Mahanta as his inheritor.
B. Sri Padhi
has taken the valuable cultivated land measuring
an area of 5.13 Acres of the Matha
on lease basis for a period of twenty years from 4.11.2012 to 3.11.2032 which is illegal under section 19 of the
Odisha Hindu Religious Endowment Act, 1955. The said section says “ notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force no
transfer by exchange, sale or mortgage ad no lease for a term
exceeding five years of ay immovable property belonging to , or given or endowed
for the purpose of , ay religious
institution, shall be made unless
it is sanctioned by the Commissioner as
being necessary or beneficial to the institution and no such
transfer shall be valid or operative
unless it is so sanctioned.”
C. Sri Padhi is involved in the profitable business
activities by acquiring one tractor having engine No. S3251E39706 & Chassis
No. SSEW101201213 o 14.3.2013
through subsidiary system by utilising landed property of the Matha on his
parental address.
D. Huge wealth
like gold , ornaments worth crores of rupees in Gravagruha has
been excavated and taken away
by Sri Padhi and his associates. Being empowered by the
Interim Trustee, Sri padhi and his associates
have started disposing off the properties of the Matha
suh as rice, paddy, 1 lakh
bricks, valuable trees, agricultural equipments and other valuable materials
unauthorisedly and many more.
Armed with these documentary proofs, the
villagers have submitted a memorandum dated 22.6.15 to
Endowment Commissioner demanding immediate ouster of Sri Padhi from Campus and form a Management Committee taking
participation of local administration
and other intellectuals in the
greater interest of Sri Nursinghnath Jew
thereby obstructing anti-social activities in the premises of Matha, selection of
Mahanta for Matha by calling
meeting of the villagers and
implement order of the High Court.
Finding no solution, on 28.9.15, they have started
Hunger strike in front of Matha to mount pressure on Govt. for permanent solution and restoration of sanctity, sanctum and
sanctorum of Matha.
Response of Sri
Biswajit Padhi, Controversial Chela
The Team met Sri Padhi and sought his response about
the allegations made by the villagers. He declined to respond anything saying
that the matter is sub-judice. He showed a copy of the order of the High Court
dated 18.12.14 in which the direction has been passed to the Commissioner of
Endowment to enquire into the matter. However he said that the allegations made
by the villagers are false as he has been authorised by the administration to look
into the management of Matha.
Remarks of the Team
The whole controversy
emerged and still continued due to callousness of the administration to resolve
the matter timely with involvement of the villagers and their close proximity
with Sri Biswajit Padhi @ Das, controversial Chela. The issues created by the
administration are as follows.
1. Without verifying the authenticity of the “ Chella
Swekarpatra”, the Inspector of
Endowment, Jagatsinghpur
arbitrarily endorsed it to the
Commissioner of Endowment and recognised as
chela i.e., inheritor of deceased Mahanta Sri Trilochan Das.
2. After public protest and subsequent order of Odisha High Court dated 24.9.14 , the Endowment Commissioner
formed an interim management
Committee headed by Inspector, Endowment, Jagatsingh Pur for management of
Matha. But astonishingly, the
Inspector, Endowment handed over the
charge to Sri Biswajit Padhi to
manage Matha which was outrightly
objected by the villagers. This
decision led to huge public
discontentment in the locality.
3. Again,
hearing another Writ petition
filed by Sri Biswajit Padhi, the Odisha High Court gave direction on 18.12.14 to the Commissioner, Endowment, Odisha to enquire
into the matter and take
appropriate legal action. Though around
10 months have passed, the Endowment
Commissioner has sat idle without taking any action to execute the order of the Court.
4. The
ominous silence of Sri Prasant Kumar Muduli, local MLA of Biju Janata Dal has also
aggravated the situation. As the
representative of the people, he has the moral duty to resolve the issue in the
greater interest of Matha. Though the villagers have informed the Local MLA
about it, he has not taken any step to resolve the issue. it was also alleged that the local MLA is
also involved in this controversy and supporting controversial Chela. However, the Team could
not be able to contact Local MLA to get his opinion.
Recommendation of
the Team
A. Nrusinghanath
Jew Matha is an age old public Institution. It is the responsibility of the
State as well as the people to preserve its sanctity, sanctum in the greater
interest of the villagers. When the
edifice of the Matha is breaking down, the villagers have come to the streets
to protect it. But the administration
i.e., Commissioner of Endowment
appointed to oversee the management of
all Hindu Religious Institutions has
exhibited lackadaisical attitude
and precariously failed to take steps
to carry out the order of the
High Court and resolve the issue of mismanagement of Matha.
Due to inaction of the Endowment Commissioner, the villagers have come
to the streets spending their precious time and money to protect an institution. Keeping in view this situation, the Team also
feels which can not be ruled out that the
heavy powerful political group (may
be Minister and Local MLA ) are
behind the scene to capture the property of Matha by hook and by
crook. Sri Biswajit Padhi is just like a
puppet in their hand to amass wealth of Matha.
B. So,
the Team strongly recommends that
the Commissioner of Endowment
should immediately enquire into the matter as per order of Odisha High Court and form a management Committee taking
participation of the villagers
for transparent management of Matha.
C. The Commissioner of Endowment should institute an enquiry team to assess the property of Matha and resume the land illegally acquired by the powerful people.
Follow-up Action
A. The
Civil Society Groups organised Mass
Dharana with participation of the hundreds of the people in front of the
office of Commissioner of Endowment,
Odisha on 30.9.15 demanding immediate enquiry into
irregularities in Khambakula Matha as per the direction of Odisha High Court and submitted memorandum to Justice G.C.Panigrahi, Commissioner
in this regard.
