Deoghar, May 25: A new drama is unfolding at Lord Baidyanath temple in Deoghar. While the main players are the temple authorities and the district administration, a treasure trove is at the heart of the matter, which threatens to snowball into a murky affair.

The temple trust committee — a local body constituted by Ranchi High Court to look into the affairs of Baba temple recently stepped up its renovation and began the construction of a new administrative building on the premises.

Besides, the committee also decided to give the Radha-Krishna temple and the Gaddhi of the Sardar Panda (the house of the head priest) a facelift. However, the Dharmarakshni Sabha, a body of local priests, alleged that the chairperson of the trust had stolen the treasures buried under the Gaddhi of the Sardar Panda.

According to the general secretary of the sabha, Lalmani Falhari, workers had come across an underground chamber while demolishing the old structure.

“Some unknown persons came here on Saturday night and took the treasure with them. Members of the temple trust committee, in which the Deoghar deputy commissioner also holds a key post, were aware of the fact but none of them bothered to inform the priests,” he alleged.

Falhari further alleged that not a single worker had reported for work after the incident.

However, deputy commissioner Arun Kumar Singh, who inspected the site along with senior officials, refuted the charges saying that it was a baseless allegation levelled against the administration. “If there was any treasure, then it should be the property of the state. Why should we fear about it?” he argued.

According to the general secretary of the All-India Dharmarakshni Sabha, Durlabh Mishra, the post of the Sardar Panda is the most important one.

“After Lord Baidyanath, devotees consider Sardar Panda as the most important entity here. Hindu religious books also consider the Sardar Panda to be as important as the God,” he informed.

Mishra recalled that the last Sardar Panda, late Bhapritanand Ozha, was a reputed spiritual person who had a God-like influence on devotees.

According to him, devotees who came to worship the God offered charabas (offerings of money, ornaments and other items), which were kept in a special vault on the temple premises. “Similarly, devotees used to make offerings to the Sardar Panda, which were deposited in the underground chamber,” Mishra said.

After the death of Ojha, things have turned murky. His successor is involved in a case in the Calcutta High Court. So, there is no one to step into Ojha’s shoes and the post has remained vacant.