# Man climbs Puri Jagannath temple roof, says monkey took his purse

2026-08-17T17:52:22+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

A man was detained at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on Monday after he climbed onto the temple structure, prompting concerns over security. Times Now reported that Madhab Gopinath Nayak, a resident of Mahasamund district in Chhattisgarh, told police he had climbed up because a monkey had snatched his purse. Odisha TV said the man managed to reach the shrine's inner structure before being spotted and taken into custody by Singhadwara Police. Times Now added that Nayak came down on his own and has since been admitted to the Puri district headquarters hospital for a medical examination and observation. Police are questioning Nayak to determine how he breached security to access the restricted upper areas of the centuries-old shrine. His family has been informed, and authorities are investigating whether any security lapse occurred.

## Coverage

- odishatv.in <https://odishatv.in/odisha/man-climbs-atop-puri-jagannath-temple-detained-by-police-12348093>
- timesnownews.com <https://www.timesnownews.com/india/man-climbs-puri-jagannath-temple-roof-to-retrieve-purse-taken-by-monkey-admitted-for-medical-examination-article-155740764>

This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T07:12:54+00:00.

Tags: Puri, Shree Jagannath Temple
Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/man-climbs-puri-jagannath-temple-detained-by-police/
License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources.
Cite: https://indianopinion.org/man-climbs-puri-jagannath-temple-detained-by-police/#story-in-brief

How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/
