By IANS
Patna : A Hindu monk, who has filed a criminal complaint against top officials of the Bodh Gaya temple in Bihar for allegedly cutting a branch of the sacred Bodhi tree, is receiving threats to his life.
Arup Brahmachari, the monk, was assaulted by some men allegedly owing allegiance to a top official of the temple on Aug 24.
The monk, in his 30s, has written to the president, the prime minister and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), drawing attention to the “corruption” at Bodh Gaya, considered sacred to millions the world over. It is believed Lord Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree about 2,550 years ago.
“I have informed the Rashtrapati Bhawan and the prime minister’s office about the threat to my life after I refused to withdraw the complaint against top officials of the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee,” Brahmachari said.
“I want to fight corruption at Bodh Gaya. I am waiting for their response,” he said.
In a letter to NHRC after he was assaulted, the monk requested the commission to send a team for a probe.
“Please take immediate steps to save my life. There is a big conspiracy to kill me. The Gaya district administration is in league with the temple authorities,” Brahmachari alleged.
He lodged a police complaint on Aug 24 after the assault on him. In his complaint, the monk said a conspiracy has been hatched to kill him because he had filed a criminal case at a Gaya court against top officials of Bodh Gaya temple management committee.
“They want to eliminate me to stop my fight against corruption at the Bodh Gaya temple,” Brahamchari said.
He said the top officials of the temple committee had tried to bribe him to withdraw the case against them.
A few months ago, Brahmachari had filed a criminal case against officials of the temple management committee in the court of the chief judicial magistrate of Gaya.
“I have filed a criminal case against officials of the temple with evidence, including eight photographs, to substantiate my claim that a branch of the Bodhi tree had been cut,” Brahmachari said.
Over a year ago, it was reported that some criminals had cut off a branch of the Bodhi tree. The Nitish Kumar-led government was quick in issuing a denial.
After a hue and cry over the incident, the state government collected some samples from the tree and sent it to a Pune-based forest laboratory to ascertain the truth.
Ironically, the laboratory report is yet to be made public even after 11 months. The Gaya district administration says the report is still awaited. Some Buddhist monks suspect the government is trying to hide the truth.
“My complaint was supported by an affidavit filed by Deepak Malakar, a gardener of the temple, who used to look after the Bodhi tree,” Brahmachari said.
In his affidavit, Malakar claimed that he cut off a branch of the tree on July 10, 2006, allegedly on the order of Bahadant Bodhipal, the temple chief priest, and carried it to his residence.
Brahmachari has accused top temple officials, including the ex-officio chairman, secretary Kalicharan Yadav, chief priest Bahadant Bodhipal and the Gaya district magistrate, of trying to tamper with Malakar’s affidavit.
“These powerful people are doing everything to frighten Malakar to change his mind on the issue and police have even raided his house,” Brahmachari claimed.
The Bodhi tree behind the Mahabodhi temple, which has grown from the original banyan tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment, sprouted new leaves after four years last year.
An official of the Mahabodhi temple, which the UN has declared a World Heritage site, said the Bodhi tree is the sixth regeneration of the original banyan tree.