Gold and silver missing from the Narmada Origin Temple at Amarkantak (Madhya Pradesh) !

Temple trust claims the gold and silver are deposited at the police station
Police reject the claim

Shahdol (Madhya Pradesh) – It has been alleged that no records are available of the gold and silver donated to the Narmada Origin Temple, the source of the Narmada River, at Amarkantak. The Narmada Origin Temple is managed by the local Municipal Council; however, the Council does not possess the trust’s governing rules. The temple trust claims that the gold and silver ornaments received as donations are deposited at the Amarkantak Police Station and that receipts are available with the trust. Police officials, however, state that they do not receive any donations from the temple.

Gold and Silver Missing from the Temple at Amarkantak, (from where the river Narmada originated.) Madhya Pradesh

The temple trust claimed that the gold and silver had been deposited at the police station even as the police denied the claim.

This is a matter of embarrassment for… pic.twitter.com/RmRZShajSn

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) July 15, 2026

1. The Shri Narmada Mandir Ugam Trust was established in 2001. The trust is responsible for the temple’s management, construction work, the donation boxes, and the management of the gold and silver received as donations. The trust has 10 donation boxes, including those at the main temple, Kartik Swami Temple, Shri Ram Temple, Eleven Rudra Temple, the origin site, Shri Vishnu Temple and Mai’s Garden. According to information provided by the temple management, the trust has deposits of ₹1.41 crore in its account. However, complete records of the gold and silver received as donations since 2001 are not available.

2. According to Ganesh Pathak, who has been managing the arrangements since 2021, he prepared an inventory after assuming charge; however, the entries in the old registers are not clear. Consequently, the total number of ornaments in the temple and their details are not known. Following the theft at the Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the committee began registering new ornaments along with photographs, but the old records are still incomplete.

3. The temple’s ornaments are deposited at the police station. However, the trust’s Treasurer, Chain Singh Paraste, said that he does not know when this arrangement began or on what basis. He admitted that he does not have clear information regarding the total inventory of the gold and silver. The records also do not mention when the ornaments are sent to the police station or in whose presence they are deposited.

Discrepancy between those opening the donation boxes and those signing the records !

Some members who are called to open the donation boxes are not present during the counting, while the signatures of other persons are obtained later in the register. Priest Durgesh Dwivedi has alleged irregularities in the signature process. In many cases, signatures are forged or obtained later. This raises questions about the transparency of the counting of the donations. The registers containing records of donations and ornaments show several instances of overwriting and the use of correction fluid (“whitener”). In some entries, the original figures have been erased and replaced with new ones. This raises questions about the credibility of the records. According to the documents, there are also discrepancies in the recorded weight of the ornaments and the corresponding entries.