Bhubaneswar: The Orissa High Court issued a notice to the Chief Secretary and Law Secretary of the State asking for a response on the Puri Srimandir Ratna Bhandar key missing case.
Hearing a petition filed by Puri-based social activist Dilip Baral, the court directed Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena and Law Secretary to file a reply in connection with the matter.
“The Justice Raghubir Das Commission was submitted in November 2018. As per law, when a commission submits its report, it is the responsibility of the government to table it in the assembly along with a memorandum. But, the Odisha government has done nothing,” said advocate Anoop Kumar Mohapatra.
“The disappearance of the Ratna Bhandar key had created a lot of confusion. Even after five years, the report has not been made public. We have also prayed to the court to allow the ASI to carry out the Ratna Bhandar repair work.” Significantly, in June 2018, the Odisha government constituted a commission headed by Justice Raghubir Das, a retired judge of the Orissa High Court, to probe the disappearance of the 12th-century treasury keys following widespread public outrage over the matter.
Later in December 2018, the Commission submitted a 324-page report to the Home Department.
