Pathanamthitta(Kerala): The Forest department authorities registered a case against the assistant of the Sabarimala temple priest, who along with his four associates, has been been accused of performing a ritual at a high security zone in Tamil Nadu illegally.
According to the complaint, the ritual took place at Ponnambalamet, a high-security area near Sabarimala where 'Makara Jyoti' is performed. The video of illegal ritual surfaced. The puja was conducted under the supervision of Narayana Swamy, a native of Tamil Nadu. He used to work as an assistant to the Sabarimala temple priest. In the video, a person is seen speaking in Tamil that a puja is being conducted at Ponnambalamet. The Devaswom Board has expressed its ire over the fact that despite the fact that the puja took place in the high-security area, authorities did not know about it.
Ponnambalamet is an area that falls under Ranni Forest Division. This is a high-security area associated with the Sabarimala temple. The Forest Department is responsible for the security of the area. The president of the Devaswom board filed a complaint with the DGP and the head of the forest department demanding the arrest of the accused.
According to information, Narayanan Swamy, the accused, has been linked to several irregularities in the past. Earlier, he was arrested by the police for travelling in a car bearing the name plate of Sabarimala's main priest. There are many complaints pending against him, including that he cheated devotees coming for puja by giving them fake receipts when he was working as the assistant of Sabarimala's main priest. Narayana Swamy told a private channel that the video which is in circulation is fake.
