KATHMANDU: The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has clarified that Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal did not enter the main Pashupatinath temple wearing leather shoes.

On Wednesday, October 22, Minister Aryal visited the Pashupati area privately with his family and offered prayers at key temples, avoiding restricted zones, PADT acting Secretary Subhash Chandra Joshi confirmed.

A photo shared on social media showing him at a doorway outside the main temple’s southwest corner was misleading, PADT stated.

The image was taken in front of a gate opened in 2000 during former Secretary Basanta Chaudhary’s tenure.

The Fund emphasized that Minister Aryal, accompanied by the acting member secretary of PADT and a priest, visited the path towards Guhyeshwari Temple via Aryaghat, and social media had misrepresented the photo.

On Wednesday, the Home Minister also visited the Gorakhnath Guhyeshwari Temple in Mrigasthali, according to PADT.