PARAVUR: It has been alleged that the priest at the Thathappilly Sri Durga Devi Temple under the Travancore Devaswom Board was insulted in the name of caste. TR Vishnu, who replaced the regular temple priest in the temple, was insulted by Thathappilli native KS Jayesh.

Upon arriving to collect the prasadam from the temple, Jayesh asked Vishnu which caste he belonged to. Vishnu replied that he belonged to a Scheduled Caste community. Jayesh then spoke derogatorily about Vishnu's caste to another temple staff member. He also said that he would not accept offerings if the puja was conducted by a non-Brahmin priest. The incident occurred in the presence of several devotees at the temple.

The Paravur police registered a case against Jayesh under the non-bailable section on the complaint filed by Vishnu for insulting him by asking his caste name.