Ettumanoor temple: Police confirms that Thiruvabharanam was stolen; former Melsanthi Keshavan Satyesh to be questioned

KOTTAYAM: Ettumanoor police have confirmed that the gold Rudraksha necklace from Thiruvabharanam (the sacred ornament) of the Ettumanoor Mahadeva temple was stolen. The police also said that the stolen necklace was replaced as soon as the news surfaced. The police have charged former Melshanthi Keshavan Satyesh with theft in the incident. He will be questioned soon.

According to the police, the original rudraksha necklace had 81 pearls. The culprits replaced this necklace with another necklace that had 72 pearls. During his investigation, Devaswom Vigilance SP Bijoy had found that the officers had failed to inform that the necklace had lost weight. Following this, Thiruvabharanam Commissioner S Ajith Kumar, Vaikom Devaswom Deputy Commissioner, Ettumanoor Devaswom Assistant Commissioner, Ettumanoor Temple Administrative Officer, former Assistant Commissioner, and former Administrative Officer were issued show-cause notices.

Thiruvabharanam Commissioner Ajith Kumar had reported to the board that the necklace was not missing and that only 9 pearls were found missing. The necklace was found to be missing after new melshanthi Padmanabhan Santosh took over.