Mohandas, a native of Ambalapara, Palakkad, has alleged that a gold locket purchased from Guruvayur Devaswom, Thrissur, was spurious gold. Mohandas had bought the locket inscribed with the image of Guruvayurappan (the four-armed Bhagwan Vishnu in his form of Shri Krishna) and Unnikannan (the image represents Vishnu as revealed to Krishna’s parents Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of his birth) from the temple on 13 May. He paid Rs 14,200 to the Devaswam for the locket weighing two grams.
Mohandas, who earns a living by playing ‘Pambin Thullal’ (a folk art) alongside his wife, was forced to pledge the locket due to financial problems. Mohandas reached the bank to mortgage the locket and realized he was cheated. Later, it was confirmed that it was not gold during the inspection conducted at a jewellery store.
Mohandas told Janam TV that he went to the Ambalapara branch of Ottapalam Urban Bank on 28 June to get a mortgage when he understood the adultery. The victim alleged bank staff insulted him after the appraiser found it was spurious gold. They alleged Mohandas had come to pledge fake gold.
Guruvuayur Devaswom sold an item worth not even 50 paise for Rs 14,200. Mohandas stated the incident caused severe emotional distress and humiliation. Mohandas has complained to the Devaswom Commissioner and the police. It is reported that the Devaswom has started an investigation into the incident.
Mohandas also claimed Rs 10 lakh in compensation for the defamation he faced after visiting a bank to pledge the locket.
When contacted, Devaswom chairman V K Vijayan stated that he had instructed the temple deputy administrator (DA) to investigate the issue and provide a report. He claimed all the temple lockets are made at the RBI Mint in Mumbai. “We have asked the devotee to come to the Devaswom on July 16 to discuss his complaint,” he explained.
However, Mohandas stated that he had no plans to visit the Devaswom. “They must come to my house and return the money,” he thundered.
Gold and silver lockets with Guruvayurappan’s image have been sold from the Guruvayur temple for some time now. Devotees consider it auspicious to buy such a locket. Meanwhile, information has come out that the Devaswom Board has cheated the devotees, which is a serious allegation.
These lockets are made upon request and despatched to the devotees. If the allegations are true, the number of victims might be in their lakhs.
In January, Guruvayur Devaswom declared it also owns over 263.637 kg of gold, 6,605 kg of silver, 19,981 gold lockets and 5,359 silver ones. The temple management had earlier refused to give details, claiming security reasons. The Devaswom has not revealed the total value of gold and silver, reasoning the antiquity of some of them has not yet been established.
Though lakhs of Sree Krishna devotees throng the temple from all over the world, the temple devaswom has shown nothing but neglect and inaction concerning the shrine’s development and its devotees’ welfare. Are the communist rulers now resorting to open temple theft in Kerala using atheist Hindu In Name Only Devaswom employees?
A proper audit has not occurred in the famous Hindu temple since the 1980s.
