Trimbakeshwar temple darshan pass scam busted; 5 arrested

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

Just days before the first Monday of the holy Shravan month, Nashik rural police have uncovered a major black-marketing racket involving darshan passes at the renowned Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple, authorities revealed on Saturday. Five individuals were arrested for fraudulently obtaining online darshan passes and reselling them to unsuspecting devotees at exorbitantly inflated prices. The accused have been identified as Dilip Zhole and Sudam Badade, both residents of Pegalwadi Trimbak in Nashik district; Samadhan Chauthe and Manohar Sheware from Rokadwadi, and Shivraj Aher from Trimbakeshwar. Police stated that most of the accused previously worked in shops selling pooja products near the temple. Police stated that most of the accused previously worked in shops selling pooja products near the temple. (HT)
Given the large number of devotees visiting Trimbakeshwar, the temple administration offers two types of darshan passes: a free pass and a paid pass, priced at ₹200 per person. Devotees can purchase the paid passes both offline and online. In recent months, however, there have been growing concerns about malpractices in the online pass booking system. Acting on senior officials' instructions, the police arrested the five individuals on Thursday and dismantled the online pass scam. Investigations revealed that the accused had been booking ₹200 donation-based darshan passes through the official Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust website using fake names, Aadhaar numbers, and mobile numbers. These passes were then resold at inflated prices, ranging from ₹800 to ₹1,000 each, near the temple.
Mahesh Kulkarni, PI at Trimbakeshwar police station, said, 'Our investigation revealed that the five-member gang exploited the online quota, generating 200 to 300 passes per day using fraudulent credentials. Following this incident, the temple administration has implemented changes to the online darshan ticket booking system, including the introduction of Aadhaar linkage to prevent further malpractices.'
A police officer involved in the investigation mentioned that the gang operated via a WhatsApp group, using code names and regularly updating each other on the number of tickets booked and sold.
Trimbakeshwar, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India, attracts a massive influx of devotees during Shravan. On average, about 25,000 pilgrims visit the temple daily during this period. Of these, approximately 5,000 opt for the special donation-based darshan. The temple trust issues 3,000 passes at the temple's north gate and 2,000 through its online portal.
The black-marketing racket was uncovered following complaints from devotees and temple crowd management observations. After conducting surveillance and verifying the complaints, police apprehended the accused and seized digital evidence related to the scam.
Authorities from the temple trust have confirmed they are reviewing the current online booking system and will soon introduce stricter verification measures to prevent further misuse.
Police have urged devotees to use only the official booking platform and to report any suspicious activity related to pass sales.