CCTV, frisking, live telecast: Gujarat's Ambaji temple rolls out new SOP for donation counting

Palanpur (Gujarat), Jul 13 (PTI) Gujarat’s famous Ambaji temple has implemented a strict standard operating procedure for counting donations, featuring live public telecasts and multiple security checks to boost transparency, months after a theft attempt, officials said on Monday. The move has come after an old CCTV footage of an outsourced employee attempting to steal Rs 1 lakh from the cash room of the shrine in Banaskantha district two months ago went viral online. The new measures were introduced to make the donation-counting process more robust and transparent, said Mihir Patel, Banaskantha collector and the managing trustee of the Shri Arasuri Ambaji Mata Devsthan Trust. "The three employees were dismissed from service with immediate effect back then. Following that, a new SOP has been announced to strengthen the donation counting process," Patel told reporters here. Under the revised SOP, the entire counting process will be monitored by more than 20 CCTV cameras, and the footage will be preserved for six months. All employees involved in counting donations will undergo frisking with metal detectors in the presence of police before entering the counting room. They will also not be allowed to wear clothes with large pockets during the exercise, he said. After the counting is completed, all personnel will again be thoroughly checked by police before they exit the premises, Patel said. To enhance transparency, the entire donation-counting process will also be telecast live on a large LED screen installed at Chachar Chowk, an open courtyard outside the temple complex situated on a hill. Patel further clarified that the trust had taken immediate action in the theft incident and implemented new SOP to ensure such incidents do not recur. The collector made the announcement a day after CCTV footage of the theft bid from the temple's treasury room in May went viral on social media. According to temple authorities, Chirag Thakor, an outsourced employee, was caught allegedly attempting to steal a bundle of cash while donation notes were being counted. A cash bundle containing Rs 1 lakh fell from Thakor's pocket while he was leaving the counting room on the pretext of going to the bathroom, alerting other employees, they said. Subsequent investigation revealed the alleged involvement of two other outsourced employees. All three were arrested after an FIR was registered on the complaint of the temple administration and were immediately dismissed from service, Temple Administrator and Additional Collector Kaushik Modi told reporters. He said the CCTV footage circulating on social media was from the May incident, and the temple trust and police had already taken action. PTI PJT PD ARU