KOCHI, May 28 : Kerala Devaswoms Minister K Muraleedharan on Thursday asserted that no one would be allowed to steal from God at any temple in the state and said a report had been sought regarding the alleged loss of valuables from the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple here.
The minister said a temple administrative committee comprising representatives of the Centre and the Kerala government was currently in place, and that state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala had sought a report from the panel on the issue.
“Based on the report, he and I will discuss the matter and make a decision. No valuables belonging to any temple should go missing. That is the policy of the UDF government,” Muraleedharan said.
He said that if any valuables were found missing, it would have to be examined whether it was an “inside job”.
“No one will be allowed to meddle with God’s property in any temple,” he added.
The report was sought after the government received a police report regarding allegations of missing valuables from the temple.
According to a section of the media, around 78 grams of gold bars and coins received as offerings were allegedly found missing from the shrine.
Media reports also claimed that a letter sent by the state police chief to the additional chief secretary, highlighting serious security lapses at the temple, had surfaced.
Muraleedharan had conceded a day earlier that such a report had been submitted by the police two days before the ministers assumed office.
The temple management, meanwhile, rejected reports of missing valuables and serious security lapses, terming them “baseless and false”.
In a statement, the temple executive officer said allegations regarding missing valuables, improper handling of devotees’ offerings and security breaches were malicious attempts to tarnish the image of the historic shrine and mislead the public.
In 2011, several underground vaults at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple were opened for the first time following a Supreme Court order to inventory the temple’s assets.
Of the six known vaults, five were opened and inventoried, revealing a vast collection of gold, jewellery and precious stones estimated to be worth billions of dollars. Vault B, however, remains sealed due to religious sensitivities.
In 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the rights of the erstwhile Travancore royal family to administer the temple and its assets. (PTI)
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