Mathura: ISKCON Employee Responsible for Collecting Donations Flees with Lakhs

Mathura: An ISKCON employee responsible for collecting money donated by devotees fled with lakhs of rupees along with the receipt book on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura.

"An FIR was filed by the temple's Chief Finance Officer, Vishwa Nam Das, late on Friday night," said Superintendent of Police (City) Arvind Kumar.

He explained that Das had submitted an application to SSP Shailesh Kumar Pandey on December 27, informing about the alleged theft. A primary investigation was conducted, after which the FIR was lodged.

Temple PRO Ravi Lochan Das said that Murlidhar Das, who had been entrusted with the task of collecting the donated money and depositing it with the temple authorities periodically, had gone missing.

"After further scrutiny, the exact amount of money he has deposited with the temple will be known," he added.

According to the FIR, Murlidhar Das, son of Nimai Chand Yadav, is a resident of Sriram Colony, Rauganj Vasa in Indore, Madhya Pradesh .

Police stated that, along with the stolen money, he also fled with a receipt book containing 32 sheets. A thorough investigation is underway to recover the stolen funds.

The PRO also mentioned that a similar incident had occurred earlier, when a person named Saurav had fled with donation money and a receipt book. However, Saurav died before the stolen funds could be recovered.

(Inputs from agencies)