Controversy in Chottanikkara temple: Drunk priests rough up assistant, use political clout to resolve case

KOCHI: Controversy engulfed Chottanikkara Devi Temple over the reinstatement of two priests who were expelled for beating up an assistant priest in an inebriated state. One of the reinstated priests is a CPI supporter. It is said that he was taken back due to pressure from higher-ups. Both are assistant priests at the temple’s Melkavu sanctum and will return to temple duties on Monday.

The injured was another assistant priest at the temple’s Keezhkavu sanctum.

The incident that brought shame to the most important temple of the Cochin Devaswom Board took place at 10 pm on March 23rd at Rajeshwari Hotel, located at the western gate of the temple.

The assistant priest, having food at the hotel, was badly roughed up by the two. He sustained injuries on his forehead and lip. The beating resulted from an earlier verbal argument over getting a pearl necklace to be used for the deity in the temple.

The injured priest filed a complaint with the police, while the Devaswom vigilance department also filed a report on the incident. Following this, both priests were expelled. However, the duo also filed a complaint against the priest of the Keezhkavu shrine. Later, the incident was resolved at the police station. Following this, some local CPI leaders came forward demanding that the two priests be taken back to service.

Neither the perpetrators nor the victim are employees of the Devaswom Board. Therefore, there was no roadblock in taking back the two. It is the chief priests of the Melkavu and Keezhkavu sanctum who appoint six and three people as assistant priests. The chief priest is also assigned the duty of paying them monthly salary. No interview or previous history of the candidates are considered while selecting them. A simple adhaar card would be enough to make it into the job.