Hindu Religious News 6-17-26

Jump to a Section: Click the links 📰 below to skip to the part you’re most interested in.

📰 Religious Crimes, Big Stories, Rows!

📰 Temple News, Non-Crimes

📰 Festivals

📰 Pilgrimages

📰 Celebs & politicians at temples

📰 Lists

📰 Overseas Hindu News

📰 Misc: Religious

📰 Misc: Non-Religious

📰 Other Religions

🔴 RELIGIOUS CRIMES, BIG STORIES, ROWS

🔷 PURI TO WB: DITCH STONE MURTIS! After ‘Dham’, Odisha Demands Stone Idols At Digha Jagannath Temple Be Replaced With Wooden Ones

The Jagannath Puri temple in Odisha is now demanding that the West Bengal Digha temple replace their stone murtis with WOODEN murtis – saying it’s against scripture to worship Jagannath as stone!

Previously, the new Bengal CM took off the word, “Dham” from the Digha Jagannath Temple name because the Puri temple asked. We’ll see if he’ll gives in again throws away the stone murtis for wooden ones!?

🔷 GOAT BITTEN ON NECK FIR Registered Against Barbaric Siddipet Goat Sacrifice Following Complaint by SAFI and PETA India Intervention

This happened at the Peddamma Bonalu celebrations in Siddipet, Telangana. Animal sacrifice in temples is illegal in Telengana.

🔷 RAM DONATION THEFT 50 Ram Mandir Trust Employees Under Scanner in Donation Embezzlement, ₹2 Crore Seized Another article

🔷 RAM THEFT & MODI Ram Temple Donation Allegations Put Modi in the Line of Fire of Opposition Parties and Hindutva Veterans

🔷 PAST RAM THEFT? What happened to 1,250 invaluable Shri Ram stones?:Dharmasena founder cites 1989 temple campaign; questions raised over custody of offerings

“Dharmsena and its founder, Santosh Dubey, have alleged that 1,250 consecrated bricks made of gold, silver, diamonds, precious gemstones, and ashtadhatu (an eight-metal alloy), which were worshipped across villages, towns, cities, and even abroad before being brought to Ayodhya in 1989, have mysteriously vanished.”

🔷 ANTI CONVERSION LAWS Anti-Conversion Laws in India: Not Only Anti-Minority but Also Anti-Dalit

“While proponents present these statutes as protective measures safeguarding cultural identity and vulnerable populations from coercive missionary activities, critics contend that they curtail individual freedom, enable selective enforcement, and disproportionately harm Dalits seeking dignity and escape from caste oppression.”

🔷 DALIT MARRIAGE KILLING Shivani, killed by her father at a police station for marrying a Dalit man

Shivani Chauhan, 19, stabbed to death by dad while mom held her down – INSIDE POLICE STATION – for marrying Dalit man!

🔷 BABRI MASJID ACCUSED Co-Accused in Babri Masjid Case Files Complaint Against Ram Mandir Trustees Alleging Embezzlement of Funds

🔷 PRIESTS CLASH Priests clash over rituals, offerings at Baba Mahendranath Temple in UP; watch viral video

🔷 KEDARNATH DARSHAN FRAUD Kedarnath VIP darshan fraud: Accused arrested for cheating pilgrims of ₹30,000

🔷 KALAPANI PRIEST TRAVEL BAN Andhra Pradesh HC stays order restricting priests who travelled abroad from temple rituals

Historical Background – Kalapani is in the Hindu scriptures. It’s a prohibition on crossing “the black water”. It forbids any Hindu (not just priests) from traveling abroad. If you do, you lose your caste and ritual purity.

In 2010, the AP Endowments Dept ruled that priests who travelled abroad would be forbidden from working in the sanctum sanctorum join return to India.

Earlier this year, an AP judge ENFORCED those guidelines.

Now, an AP judge just issued a STAY on the ruling. So the previous judge’s ruling has been temporarily paused.

🔷 VIP DARSHAN DEBATE ‘Same god, same blessings’: Woman questions Rs 2,000 VIP darshan culture at Indian temples, sparks debate

🔷 SABARIMALA GHEE SALES ROW Kerala HC orders fresh review of vigilance probe into Sabarimala ghee sale irregularity

Temple sells packets of prashad ghee. Sales weren’t matching up with the money collected.

Sabarimala also has a gold plating theft scandal. Then the controversy in court over women being allowed inside.

🔷 SHOES THROWN ON RAM Bangladesh: Dhaka University Hindu students launch protest over Islamist desecration of Bhagwan Ram’s murti

🔷 VENDORS EVICTED Over 500 small traders evicted from Tiruchendur Murugan temple premises in Thoothukudi

🔷 BANKE BIHARI SC to hear tomorrow plea against Banke Bihari Temple panel’s decisions on darshan timings, rituals

🔷 WB DHAM THANKS Sambit Patra thanks West Bengal government for dropping ‘Dham’ from Digha Jagannath temple name

🔷 AVOIDING LADDOO ROW What all Tirupati temple trust is doing to avoid another laddoo prasad row

🔷 DRUNK KILLS CARETAKER Madhya Pradesh: Elderly Man Chased From Temple, Beaten To Death Inside Indore Gurdwara Another article
Kailash Modi, 71, was a temple caretaker. He was confronted by a drunk man, chased from temple, ran into Gurdwara where he was beaten to death with a stick.

🔷 TTD PRASHAD QUALITY TTD MoU with CSIR-CFTRI to enhance food safety and quality of Srivari Prasadams

🔷 RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS IN SCHOOL Tamil Nadu Education Minister Rajmohan takes U-turn on religious symbols in schools after severe public backlash