Bhubaneswar, Sept. 20 -- Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan today termed the allegations of 'modak' theft at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri as baseless and illogical.

Replying to a query raised by BJD legislator Ananta Narayan Jena in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Harichandan informed a four-member committee had been constituted by the State Government to probe the matter. Based on its findings, it was concluded that the charge of stealing 'dasamula modak' had no merit. He clarified the secret ritual (gupta niti) of the deities was performed with the required number of modaks.

In late June this year, Haladhar Das Mohapatra, the Badagrahi of Lord Balabhadra, had alleged that 70 modaks (herbal ladoos) were missing from a s...