‘Emotional Exploitation': Trimbakeshwar Trust Cracks Down On Fake Puja Websites, Apps

A complaint has been filed with the police by the Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust that online fraud is being committed at Trimbakeshwar in the name of Kalsarp Puja. Calling this type of fraud emotional, the trust has also demanded a ban on the relevant application.

Thousands of devotees visit Trimbakeshwar, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in the country, every day. Since Pitru Paksha is currently underway, there is a constant influx of devotees for the puja. Kalsarp Puja is considered an important religious ritual. 

It has recently come to light that some people are misleading and looting outside devotees while providing necessary information to carry out their rituals. Especially, outside devotees who are unaware of the place of worship, the priest, dakshina, and ritual expenses come in contact with those who lure them with applications in the name of online services. 

This leads to fraud and tarnishes the name of the local Brahmavrinda. The Devasthan Trust has taken this step because there are complaints that migrants are being hit hard by it.

Many applications to fool devotees 

Meanwhile, information has come to light on this occasion that many applications are working that misguide migrant devotees and exploit them financially. 

Among them, dozens of applications with names like Utsav, Devdham, Vama, Gharmandir, Lifeguru, Astrointra, and others are emotionally exploiting them. The trust has appealed in its complaint to the police that they should be banned immediately.

“In today's online era, some application operators have started taking advantage of the gap between Trimbakeshwar and foreign devotees. In fact, the Kalsarp puja ceremony is never performed in the Trimbakeshwar temple. In such a situation, outside devotees get free by paying money to the people associated with the applications, and after coming here, they realise that they have been cheated. Therefore, the related applications should be banned immediately,” Suyog Wadekar, Senior Priest and Taluka President, BJP, Trimbakeshwar.

“Without making the devotees aware of this fact, some elements mislead them only for financial reasons. This threatens the reputation of local priests. We have already complained to the police about this. Devotees should not fall prey to such scams. If anyone has a complaint about this, they should complain to the police,” said Manoj Thete, President, Purohit Sangh, Trimbakeshwar.