Srinagar, June 18: The chief mahant of the Amarnath yatra has demanded an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge into reports of an artificial ice Shiva lingam in the cave shrine.

In a statement this evening that could spark a controversy, Mahant Deependra Giri expressed serious concern over media reports that the lingam had been “artificially and chemically” made as it did not form naturally this year.

“If found to be true? to me it appears to be an act of sacrilege hurting the feelings of the devotees,” Giri said.

The mahant, associated with the annual pilgrimage for over two decades and the custodian of the holy mace for the past 14 years, said he is of the “firm opinion that the formation of himlingam is a natural process and must not be interfered by scientific artifice and procedures”.

Pilgrims visit the cave shrine in the Himalayas, which is said to be the abode of Shiva, every summer to see the massive ice lingam.

The Amarnath Shrine Board dismissed the reports as “unfortunate” and said “there was no question of tampering with the sanctity of the revered cave shrine by the board”. But the spokesman did admit that the natural lingam started forming very late last month, coinciding with the start of the two-month yatra.

In a statement, the board said officials had visited the cave shrine in mid-May and found that the lingam had not formed.

“The board sent a team from the High Altitude Warfare School on May 14 to inspect the track and surroundings of the cave. The team found the cave-top totally free from snow and the glacier cover thereon receded by 100 metres or so. The Shiva lingam site was found dry.”

Another team from the Snow & Avalanche Studies Establishment was sent on May 18 to look into the possible causes.

“Through visual inspection and satellite pictures, this team, too, confirmed the receding of glaciers primarily on account of global warming. There was also a little debate whether the October 2005 earthquake might have brought about some geological changes affecting the seepage of water at the Shiva lingam’s usual place.”

But it also reported that water was trickling at the speed of two to three drops per minute on May 19. By end-May, there were reports of heavy snowfall in the area and of a lingam having started to form.

Before the yatra started, complaints were received that snow had been piled and vermilion applied on the lingam. The grill at the sanctum sanctorum was raised and a side entrance closed. Piling of some snow on the lingam could not be prevented as the shrine is unguarded for over 10 months, the spokesperson said.