Kochi: Controversies are not new to Sabarimala. It is one of the biggest temples in South India and like its devotees, controversies also seem to visit the temple every year.
This year Sabarimala’s supreme head Thantri Kandararu Maheshwaru has moved the Kerala High Court seeking a probe into the antecedents of one of the candidates short listed for the post of melshanthi (head priest).
The Thantri says, high court-appointed observer Justice Padmanabhan Nair, told him that there were allegations against one of the nine candidates.
“Complaints were received about the antecedents of some of the short listed candidates and hence Thantri decided to move the high court,” says Thantri’s lawyer Krishnamoorthy.
The melshanthi is traditionally selected by drawing lots from the short listed candidates. He has asked the court to postpone the process from October 17 to October 28, so that an enquiry can be held.
“Since we don’t have any mechanism to inquire, we have asked the high court to intervene and find out,” says grandson of Thantri.
The Sabarimala temple has been plagued by controversy of late. In 2006 Kannada actress Jaimala claimed she had entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
This was soon followed by reports that the then head priest was being blackmailed by a woman running a prostitution racket. With the pilgrimage season set to begin next month, the Thantri's court petition is creating quite a stir.
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