No action in 17-year-old finding that half a kilo of gold from Poornathrayeesa Temple is fake: Indications that gems and diamonds are also lost

KOCHI: Shocking discovery that the gold coronet weighing half a kilo from the Poornathrayeesa Temple is a fake. The Cochin Devaswom Board did not move a finger even after detecting the fraud 17 years ago.

Poornathrayesa is the main deity of worship of the Cochin royal family. It is reported that a large part of the valuables, including gems and diamonds, that were there when the royal family handed over the temple to the Devaswom Board have been lost.

The coronet is part of the four-kilogram gold kolam used for the Utram Ezhunnallippu. The then Tripunithura Devaswom Assistant Commissioner had reported that the coronet was noted as 496 grams of gold in the old register, which records the value of valuables, and that the present one is understood to be a fake.

A letter was sent from the Tripunithura Assistant Commissioner's Office to the Special Devaswom Commissioner in Thrissur regarding the fraud on February 23, 2008. The letter contained serious remarks and suggestions to prevent the fraud. However, no investigation was carried out. This is one of the four gold kolams in the temple. There should be about 15 kg of gold in all four.

High Court Registrar KT Sudheer had examined the kolams and submitted a report in 2021 as per the directions of the Supreme Court in a case filed by the Kochi royal family in connection with another kolam. There is no mention of the coronet in the kolam for Utram Ezhunnallippu in this report either.

Four gold kolams

Shiveli kolam: For daily shiveli. With the melshanthi (3 kg)

Kalabha kolam: For Kalabha ceremonies. With the Devaswom officer (3 kg)

Utram kolam: For Utram Ezhunnallippu and Vrischikotsavam. In the main tomb (3.901 kg)

Kallu kolam: For five days of Vrischikotsavam. In the main tomb (3.642 kg)

Only gold objects for Ezhunnallippu

Only gold objects are used for Ezhunnallippu on the Thriketta day of Vrischikotsavam. The kolam, the thidamba, the Nettipattam, the coronet, the umbrella that is used for the kolam, the handles of the chamaram and even the pot used for offering kanikka are made of gold.