Nepal's Pashupatinath Temple Closed As Authorities Reinstall Gold Ornaments

Nepal's Pashupatinath Temple was closed from Wednesday afternoon till Thursday morning as authorities reinstalled more than 100 kilogrammes of gold ornaments around the Shiva Linga at the fifth-century revered Hindu shrine.
     
The gold ornaments were removed after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" directed the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to probe the jewellery following reports that more than 10 kilograms of gold were missing from the ornaments installed on Maha Shivratri festival last year.
     
The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) reinstalled the ornaments after they were taken out from the main temple for the purpose of weighing and determining their quality.
     
All four gates, including the temple's main gate, were closed and security personnel were deployed at the temple premises, who did not allow devotees inside saying that the installation work was underway.
     
The temple will remain closed for the whole night and is likely to reopen for devotees early on Thursday morning around 3 am after a special puja.
     
Meanwhile, the former treasurer of the PADT told PTI that during the investigation 500 grams of gold was found missing from the ornaments.
     
It is claimed that 500 grams less gold was used while installing the Jalahari, the gold ornament around the Shiva Linga.
     
However, CIAA spokesperson Bhola Dahal said the outcome of the investigation had not been made public yet. "We will make it public after the investigation is over," he said.
     
The country's apex anti-graft body CIAA had taken control of the Pashupatinath Temple on Sunday afternoon to investigate the newly installed gold ornaments around the Shiva Linga.
     
The PADT claimed that it had last year installed the ornament weighing 108 kilograms -- 103 kilograms of gold and five kilograms of other materials such as copper and silver -- around the Shiva Linga in the premises of the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu.
     
However, reports say that the actual weight of the ornament is 10 kilograms less than what was claimed. This sparked controversy and questions were raised on the matter in the parliament.