Commissioner's embezzlement to renovate quarters, buy new car: Vigilance conducts inspection at Cochin Devaswom

KOCHI: The police vigilance team inspected the board headquarters on Thursday in connection with the embezzlement of Rs 43 lakh by Cochin Devaswom Commissioner S.R. Udayakumar to renovate his quarters and buy a new car. Copies of the files were seized. The embezzlement was brought to light by Kerala Kaumudi on February 20. Subsequently, the Devaswom Minister and the vigilance received numerous complaints.

The six-member team arrived at 10.30 am on Thursday and inspected the documents till 2 pm. They sought information from the Devaswom Commissioner, the Devaswom Secretary and the Section Clerks. The AC, TV, bed, stove, kitchen utensils and heater for the quarters were purchased at the Devaswom's expense. All of these cost about six lakh rupees. The Devaswom rules state that the residents must bear the cost of maintaining the quarters.

The four-year-old Ford Escort car purchased for the former commissioner was replaced with a Maruti S-Cross worth Rs 17 lakh. The quarters in Thrissur was renovated by splashing Rs 26 lakh. S. Abhilash, a counter assistant at the Ernakulam Shiva Temple, was suspended for posting on the employees' WhatsApp group about the commissioner's extravagance.