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3 min readBhubaneswarFeb 13, 2026 07:21 AM IST
The missing key of Ratna Bhandar was a major issue ahead of the 2024 elections, with senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising it in multiple public meetings and targeting the previous BJD government over the safety of the Ratna Bhandar.
The judicial commission inquiry report on the missing key of Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of Puri Jagannath Temple is expected to be made public in the next session of the state Assembly commencing February 17, after the Orissa High Court issued a directive in this regard.
In its order, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M S Raman also directed the government to complete the exercise of tallying the inventory report submitted by the newly constituted committee with the inventory report submitted in 1978 within three months.
“No complacency can be shown by the state government in relation to the process of the inventory and the report submitted by the committee and we trust and hope that the state shall show alacrity in this regard,” read the HC order issued on January 27.
The missing key of Ratna Bhandar was a major issue ahead of the 2024 elections, with senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising it in multiple public meetings and targeting the previous BJD government over the safety of the Ratna Bhandar.
Even as the BJP accused the previous BJD government of suppressing the inquiry report on the missing keys of Ratna Bhandar while in opposition, it did not make it public after assuming power.
The issue of the ‘missing keys’ of the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar came to the fore on April 4, 2018, when the state government attempted to open the inner chamber for physical inspection following an HC direction. The attempt was unsuccessful as the keys were missing, triggering state-wide outrage.
On April 5, 2018, it was informed in a temple committee meeting that there was no information on the keys of the Ratna Bhandar. The Puri collector is the custodian of the key to the inner treasure.
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Amid protests and outrage, then chief minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a judicial inquiry into the matter on June 4, 2018. The commission submitted a 324-page report to the Odisha government on November 29, 2018. The findings are yet to be made public.
Days after the judicial inquiry was ordered, the then Puri collector, on June 13, stated that an envelope with “duplicate keys of inner Ratna Bhandar” written on it had been found, making the issue further controversial.
Justice (Retd) Biswanath Rath, who heads the high-level committee formed by the government on opening of Ratna Bhandar, welcomed the HC decision and said they are ready to complete the inventory process within three months. Rath said the inventory will be an extensive exercise and will need cooperation from devotees.
Earlier, the state government had announced it would complete the inventory of the jewellery and other valuables stored inside Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) before Rath Yatra 2026.
Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha. His interests are in politics, policy and people’s stories. He tweets at @bisoyisujit87 ... Read More
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