After the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and Badrinath Dham temple in Uttarakhand, the allegations of misappropriation of funds have emerged in the Arulmigu Koniamman Temple in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Event Context
Eight officials and staff members of temple in Tamil Nadu were suspended on Sunday in connection with the misappropriation of hundi funds, reported news agency PTI.
The suspension was ordered by Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Regional Joint Commissioner Ramesh Kumar.
Those arrested include four members suspected of direct theft and four other supervisory officials who have been penalised for severe administrative negligence.
Allegations of mishandling of hundi funds first surfaced following the temple’s scheduled counting process on July 15. Irregularities prompted HR&CE’s Kumar to launch a probe into the incident and identify those responsible for mishandling of funds.
The Arulmigu Koniamman Temple in Tamil Nadu is the latest in a series of controversial cases surrounding misappropriation of funds at temples across the country. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe is currently underway to look into alleged theft of cash donations at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya.
A three-member probe panel, headed by divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, has completed its field inquiry and recorded statements of over 70 workers linked to the temple’s donation management system. Moving beyond evidence collection, the probe is now looking into administrative compromises that permitted repeated cash pilferage in the temple. All eight accused of siphoning donations during the counting process are under arrest.
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In a similar case, an SIT unit of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli police has sought the last three years’ donation records from the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) in connection to an alleged theft of funds from the Badrinath Dham in Uttarakhand. Two arrests have been made in the case so far.
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The four officials arrested on allegations of theft execution include ticket collector A Balasubramaniyan (52), office assistant V Saravanan (34), cleaning staff P Pradeep Kumar (31), and temple priest S Krishnaraj (56).
BKTC temple officer Rajendra Chauhan was arrested on July 17 on the allegation of stealing cash from the counting room on three occasions before his retirement on June 30. A raid conducted by police forces at his accommodation in the temple led to the discovery of foreign currency and other assets. Similarly, personal assistant to BKTC’s chairman, Pramod Nautiyal, was arrested from his Dehradun residence a few prior to this for irregularities in the temple’s donation management system.
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As per police and temple authorities, the four accused segregated an uncounted hundi from the main counting area, moved these funds to the back of the temple on a trolley, and took approximately ₹31,000 to divide amongst themselves, the PTI report said.
Following their arrest on Saturday, July 25 by the Ukkadam police force, suspensions were enacted by Kumar a day later on theft accusations.
A four-member internal committee formulated by the BKTC has submitted its preliminary report to the committee chairman alongside an ongoing SIT probe and an independent inquiry being conducted by a high-level committee constituted by the state government.
