Puri, Nov 10: The Puri Cyber Police have arrested a Bhubaneswar-based businessman for illegally selling Mahaprasad, the sacred offering of the Shree Jagannath Temple, through an online platform.

The accused, Dispoza Pattnaik, a real estate developer from Bhubaneswar, allegedly created and operated a website — shreeprasad.org — that offered Mahaprasad for sale online. The site used images of the temple and its offerings, falsely claiming that devotees could order Mahaprasad “directly from the Srimandir Rosaghara” in Puri and have it delivered to their homes.

The issue came to light after Hemant Kumar Padhi, OSD (Security) of the Shree Jagannath Temple, lodged a complaint about the website. The site, which displayed the contact number 9658824596, raised serious concerns regarding the authenticity and sanctity of the sacred offerings being sold online.

Following the complaint, the Cyber Police launched an investigation, tracing the phone number to Pattnaik. He was subsequently arrested in Bhubaneswar.

Puri SP Prateek Singh said that a case was registered on October 22 after receiving the complaint about the unauthorized sale.

“Our investigation revealed that Dispoza Pattnaik, with help from his brother-in-law, had created the website to sell Mahaprasad online. He has confessed to the act,” Singh said.