Gaya: Plagued by the menace of “fake monks” bringing disrepute to Bodh Gaya in general and the Mahabodhi temple in particular, the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) has initiated a process to identify and weed out fraudsters masquerading as robed monks who cheat gullible pilgrims and visitors to the seat of Buddha’s enlightenment.In a two-page letter addressed to the president of the Bodh Gaya-based International Buddhist Council (IBC), BTMC secretary Mahashweta Maharathi has proposed joint patrolling by the police, representatives of the IBC and shrine officials to identify and drive out fake monks from the shrine premises.The BTMC has also favoured restrictions on the entry of robed men into the shrine and suggested the issuance of bar-coded identity cards to genuine monks after a thorough background check and vetting by the competent authority. Only monks carrying bar-coded identity cards would be allowed inside the shrine.The proposed corrective measures also include an awareness campaign to educate visitors about the fake monk menace and the distribution of multilingual information material and signages advising them not to hand over offerings to unauthorised monks.A proposal has also been made to establish a help desk to ensure real-time verification of the credentials of robed men moving around the shrine.Interestingly, the purge of fake monks coincides with the ongoing hydraulic cleaning of the shrine exterior. The monk verification exercise is being seen as the spiritual part of the cleaning process.Over the years, the shrine has often been in the news for the wrong reasons due to the activities of a group of robed men who, besides being involved in fist fights inside the shrine premises, have also allegedly indulged in the misappropriation of offerings made by devotees.Earlier, a criminal case was instituted against a former chief priest of the shrine for allegedly being involved in the felling of a branch of the sacred Bodhi tree and selling its leaves and twigs at fancy prices, mostly in foreign currency.The issue of background checks of monks was raised during a recent incident in which a monk was found flying a drone in the prohibited area around the shrine, which has been targeted by terrorists at least twice in the past.Conceding that at present there was no mechanism to conduct background checks and verify the credentials of robed men in Bodh Gaya, BTMC secretary Mahashweta Maharathi told this newspaper that she has sought the cooperation of the IBC in identifying genuine monks and creating their database.
