‘Dubious’ transactions at Sabarimala: High Court informed of lakhs sent via money orders by temple staff
Bench orders exhaustive investigation into bank and postal remittances made by employees during recent festival season
The vigilance officer reported to the court that data collected from post offices and banks at the temple regarding amounts deposited for onward remittance showed suspicious transactions. After ordering a probe into the alleged theft of gold from temple artefacts at Sabarimala, the Kerala High Court has found dubious money transactions in the accounts of employees on duty during the recent annual festival season.
After reviewing a report by the Sabarimala special commissioner regarding alleged financial malpractices by staff at the temple during a two-month period from November 15 to January 20, the division bench on Wednesday ordered the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board “to conduct an exhaustive investigation into all related aspects, including obtaining transactional and remittance details from various banks and financial institutions operating at the temple”.
The bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K V Jayakumar directed the vigilance officer to collect the database of all employees who were on duty at Sannidhanam during the recent festival season to ascertain the full extent of any fraudulent activity or suspicious transfer of funds.
The vigilance officer reported to the court that data collected from post offices and banks at the temple regarding amounts deposited for onward remittance showed suspicious transactions. “The enquiry revealed that an amount of Rs 14,08,880 was transferred through money orders from the Post Office alone during a short span of period. This has given rise to suspicion regarding the source and legitimacy of the funds,” the officer told the court.
The court found that one employee had remitted Rs 1,38,000 via post office, while another’s remittance amounted to Rs 1,07,450. Similar patterns of remittance have been noticed in three others. Though the vigilance officer directed these persons to undergo an enquiry, they allegedly failed to comply with the directions issued. The court stated that a detailed and comprehensive enquiry is required, including the collection of transactional particulars from the banks and postal authorities concerned.
The Travancore Devaswom Board informed the court that directions have been issued to collect details relating to all suspicious and dubious transactions and that a case will be registered in accordance with the law.
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