AnyTV News Devotee's iPhone fell in the donation box of the temple, refused to return it when asked for it -

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Refused to return iPhone that fell in donation box.

A devotee’s iPhone accidentally fell into the donation box of a temple in Chennai. After this, when the devotee requested to return the iPhone, the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department refused. The department rejected the devotee’s demand saying that he had now become the property of the temple. After realizing his mistake, the devotee named Dinesh contacted the authorities of Sri Kandaswamy Temple located in Tiruppurur. He requested that his phone, which he inadvertently dropped in the donation box while donating, be returned. After the incident, after opening the donation box on Friday, the temple administration contacted Dinesh. The temple administration said that the phone has been found and that only the data of the phone can be provided to them. However, Dinesh refused to accept the data and asked that his phone be returned to him.

no returns allowed

After this, on Saturday this matter was discussed with Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P.K. Brought to the notice of Shekhar Babu. On this incident, he said, “Whatever is deposited in the donation box, even if it is not given voluntarily, goes to God’s account.” He said, “As per the customs and traditions of temples, any offering made in the donation box goes directly into the account of the deity of that temple. As per rules, devotees are not allowed to return the offerings.” However, he said he would discuss with department officials whether there was any possibility of giving compensation to the devotee. He said that he will take a decision after deliberations.

Such an incident has happened before too

Actually, this is not the first such incident in the state. According to a senior official of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, in May 2023, devotee S. of Alappuzha, Kerala. Sangeeta’s gold chain had inadvertently fallen into the donation box of the famous Sri Dhanadayuthapani Swamy Temple of Palani. When Sangeeta was removing the Tulsi garland from her neck for offering, the gold chain had fallen into the donation box. However, considering his financial condition and after confirming from CCTV footage that the chain had fallen accidentally, the chairman of the temple board of trustees purchased a new gold chain of the same price at his personal expense and gave it to the devotee. The official said that as per the Hundi Establishment, Security and Accounts Rules, 1975, any offering made in the Hundi cannot be returned to the owner at any time as it becomes the property of the temple. (input- agency)