Balasore: The amount of donation decides who can enter a temple at Kalika village in Jaleswar of the district.

Disapproving of the widely believed sentiment that monetary issues and religious devotion do not gel, a woman of the village was barred from entering a local Shiv temple on Tuesday as her family had refused to contribute Rs 3,000 as yearly donation for five consecutive years for a religious function. The Mahapatras are small-time traders. Besides, they are also involved in cultivation.

Besides, the woman, identified as Sumati Mahapatra, 35, was also allegedly assaulted on the temple premises by local people when she insisted on worshiping in the shrine.

Sumati said that on the day of Savitri brata when she went to offer puja in the Shiv temple, the priest refused to oblige her.

He, on the other hand, said the temple committee had decided not to perform puja for her family and the same was written on the temple wall.

On the temple wall, names of five members of the Mahapatras were written, stating that neither they would be allowed to perform puja in the temple nor would the priest go to their house for performing any religious rituals on any auspicious occasion.

So, the priest refused to perform puja for Sumati's family, citing the temple committee's decision.

Protesting against such decision, Sumati picked up arguments with the priest. At that time, local residents - Chittaranjan Biswal and Chandan Das - allegedly dragged her out from the temple premises.

Sumati lodged a police complaint, and on its basis, the police registered a case under sections 341, 342, 294, 354, 506 and 34 of the IPC and started investigation.

Raibania police station officer-in-charge Laxman Kumar Behera said: "A case has been registered under several sections, including those of outraging modesty, wrongful restraint and voluntarily and causing hurt."

"The matter is under investigation. But, a former sarpanch has told us that the matter would be resolved at the village level," Behera said.

According to the complainant, the temple committee had demanded Rs 3,000 from the family for the Chadak mela, a religious festival, which was held in the second week of April.

Further, the committee had demanded the amount for five consecutive years as there are five male heads in the Mahapatra family.

As the Mahapatras had refused to concede to the demand, the temple committee held a meeting at the village, in which it was decided that family would be debarred from performing puja in the temple.