Ayodhya, Jan 21 (IANS): The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is contemplating action against those who leaked the photo of the Ram Lalla idol with its eyes uncovered.

The image went viral on social media on Friday.

The Trust suspects that some personnel involved in the temple construction project leaked the photo and it is preparing to take action against them.

Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, reacted sharply after the first image of the new Ram Lalla idol, with its eyes uncovered, became public on Friday, three days before the consecration ceremony at the Ayodhya temple on January 22.

“The rituals of Pran Pratishtha are being performed where the new idol is. The body of the idol has been covered with clothes for now. The idol that has been revealed with open eyes is not correct. The eyes will not open before the Pran Pratishtha. If such an image is appearing, an investigation should be conducted to determine who did it,” Das said, while speaking to reporters in Ayodhya.

The idol, carved in black stone sourced from Karnataka, has its eyes covered with yellow cloth and is adorned with a garland of roses in the picture released by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Ram Lalla, the child Ram, is in the standing posture.

The new 51-inch idol, carved by sculptor Arun Yogiraj of Mysuru, was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple on Thursday. It was brought there on a truck on Wednesday night.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the January 22 Pran Pratishtha ceremony. The Ram temple is expected to open to the public on January 23.