Gayaji: Reliance Group chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday performed Pind Daan, a traditional ritual for the peace and salvation of ancestors’ souls, at the Vishnupad Temple in Gayaji. He was accompanied by his younger son, Anant Ambani, who joined him for the Tarpan and Pujan.
Arriving in Gayaji by a special flight, the Ambanis reached the temple around 5:45pm and performed rituals for nearly an hour before returning to the airport at 6:40pm. The ceremonies were conducted by Shambhu Lal Bitthal, the Ambani family’s priest and chairman of the Shri Vishnupad Managing Committee. Bitthal noted that Ambani’s ancestral village is Chorwad in Junagadh district, Gujarat.
An air-conditioned cabin was set up at the temple’s Hari Mandap for the rituals, divided into sections for seating and the Pind Daan. Given Ambani’s visit, security was unprecedented. Gayaji’s district magistrate Shashank Shubhankar and SSP Anand Kumar oversaw arrangements, while bomb disposal squads and Ambani’s private security team carried out search operations well before his arrival. Reliance officials had also inspected the site in advance.
The Ambani family is under Z-plus security cover. The visit came ahead of President Droupadi Murmu’s scheduled Pind Daan in Gayaji on September 20, for which elaborate arrangements are also being made.
