Army denies allegation on Cantt temple

New Delhi: New Delhi Municipal Council's vice-chairman Karan Singh Tanwar, a former MLA of Delhi Cantonment assembly constituency, on Thursday accused the president of Delhi Cantonment Board, Station Commander Brigadier Jai Singh, of getting his men to seize control of a Hanuman mandir in Gopinath Bazaar at Delhi Cantonment. Addressing a press conference, Tanwar claimed the temple was 100 years old.
Sources in Delhi Cantonment Board, however, said the land and the structure which is on Church Road comes under the Army's jurisdiction. "Gopinath Bazaar is a notified civilian area under Delhi Cantonment Board but the Hanuman temple is on A-1 defence land. It belongs to the Army. In March, a lower court had ruled in favour of the Army in an ownership dispute case that was running from 2002. The temple was built with the regiment fund of the Army. There has been no change in the functioning of the temple. It is open to public and the temple priest remains the same," the sources said.
Army sources said they were not interfering with the normal running of the temple except for ensuring that the donation boxes are opened in front of everyone to prevent any wrongdoing. "The mandir was constructed on A-1 defence land but the temple management over time was taken over by civilians. We noticed there were certain nefarious activities going on in the temple and hence we put a stop to them," said a source.