2025.09.18 (Vrindavan Today News): Following the Supreme Court’s directive, the High-Powered Committee formed for the management of Shri Banke Bihari Temple has begun the process of retrieving information from the bank regarding a sealed box belonging to Bihari Ji, kept in a locker for several decades.
While discussions are already underway to open the temple’s treasury, which has remained shut for the past 54 years, attention has now turned towards the box lying locked in the bank. The committee has formally sought details from the concerned bank branch.
According to historian Prahlad Ballabh Goswami, this box has remained sealed since 1971, when the then temple committee chairman, Bansilal Goyal, placed certain valuables in the locker of Bank of India’s Bhuteshwar branch. Since then, it has never been opened.
The High-Powered Committee, chaired by retired High Court judge Ashok Kumar with retired district judge Mukesh Kumar as member, has been tasked with supervising temple administration, darshan arrangements, and related matters. Alongside, the committee has also engaged local officials to assist in streamlining temple management.
The committee’s mandate extends to improving darshan facilities for devotees, reviewing the security arrangements, and ensuring proper management of temple assets. Directions have also been issued to re-examine the temple’s closed treasury chambers.
Committee chairman Ashok Kumar, during a meeting with the district collector on September 11, confirmed that the process to open both the locker and the treasury has been initiated. However, temple manager Umesh Saraswat stated that, as of now, no formal written orders have been received regarding the opening of the bank locker and temple treasury (toshkhana).
This development has sparked interest among devotees and locals, who are eager to learn what the long-closed box of Shri Banke Bihari Ji contains after more than five decades.
