New controversy in Sabarimala: Yoga Danda and Rudraksha Mala taken out; allegations against former Devaswom Board president

PATHANAMTHITTA: A new allegation has been made against former Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar, who is under suspicion in the Sabarimala gold theft scandal. The allegation is that the Yoga Danda, which is enshrined on Ayyappan in yoga nidra after closing the nada, was given to his son for maintenance and that it was taken out.

The Devaswom records are not clear about where the repair was done. The Yoga Danda was donated by the Pandalam Palace when the temple was consecrated. In 2019, it was decided to wrap the Yoga Danda and Ayyappan's Rudraksha Mala with gold. The records show that a person named Jayashankar Padman was assigned for this. This is Padmakumar's son. It is stated in the Mahasar that 19.2 grams of gold were used for wrapping.

The then administrative officer Murari Babu, who was suspended in the gold-plate controversy, retired executive officer Sudheesh Kumar, and Thiruvabharanam Commissioner K.S. Baiju are the officials who had signed the Mahasar.

Repairs are son's offering

A Padmakumar said that the Yoga Danda and Rudraksha Mala were repaired and given as an offering in the name of his son. "The Yoga Danda and Rudraksha Mala were not taken out. The repairs were done in front of the temple on Vishu in 2019. When I was asked to find a sponsor from outside, my son offered to do it was a prayer since we are from a family with connections to Sabarimala. My son was also at the sanctum sanctorum at that time. The Rudraksha Maala was being washed and given. There are deliberate attempts to drag my son into controversies."