Bhubaneswar May 20 (IANS) The staff at the Jagannath temple in Odisha s Puri assaulted a devotee and snatched his gold pendant on Sunday after he refused to pay a huge amount for offering prayers police said.
Chetan G. Amolkar a resident of Thane in Maharashtra lodged a complaint with police in Singhadwar alleging that the servitors manhandled him inside the the temple premises.
"The pundits are getting a salary for their service. But they also demand a huge amount from the devotees in the name of darshan of the deities.
"It s a devotee s call how much he wants to pay but they force us (to pay more). When we refuse to pay the money they demand we face such situations " said Chetan who visited the temple with his family.
Police officer Gokul Ranjan Das said a case has been registered.

--IANS cd/him/bg