A controversy has sparked in India after a Hindu temple refused to return a man’s smartphone, which he accidentally dropped into a donation box while making an offering. Temple officials claimed that the phone had become divine property.
India Today reported on Saturday that a man named Dinesh accidentally dropped his iPhone into a donation box at a Hindu temple near Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. When Dinesh asked the temple staff to retrieve his phone, they declined, explaining, “Once an item enters the donation box, it cannot be returned.” The temple only allowed him to transfer the data from his iPhone, but the phone itself was not returned.
As the controversy escalated, the Indian government intervened, but the decision remained unchanged. The Minister of Religious Affairs stated, “According to the customs and traditions of the temple, any item, whether dropped by mistake or not, that enters the donation box becomes the property of the gods. ” He also emphasized, “It cannot be returned.” However, he mentioned that officials were discussing whether there might be any alternative forms of compensation for those affected.
In a similar incident at another temple, a woman accidentally dropped a 1.75 kg (about 3.9 lbs) gold necklace into the donation box while removing a garland she was wearing for an offering. Considering the woman’s financial struggles, temple authorities purchased a new necklace of equal value and returned it to her.