No irregularities in functioning, claims Guruvayur Devaswom; warns legal action against false news

Thrissur (Kerala) | The Guruvayur Devaswom on Thursday claimed that there were no irregularities in its functioning and warned of strict legal action against those spreading falsehoods against the temple management body.

Guruvayur Devaswom chairman V K Vijayan contended that some news media were spreading "baseless and untrue" reports regarding the management of valuables received by the Sri Krishna Temple here.

In a Facebook post, the Devaswom said that no gold bars or other valuables have been lost from the temple and details of all such valuables have been accurately recorded in the stock register. It said that any news to the contrary intends to mislead the temple's devotees.

The temple management body's response comes days after news reports claimed that successive Kerala government audits of the Guruvayur Devaswom in 2019-20 and 2020-21 found a lack of physical verification of temple valuables, significant discrepancies between income and expenditure figures, and poor record keeping.

Denying such reports, the Guruvayur Devaswom termed as "ridiculous" the news that it paid for the cutting of elephant tusks in 2019, but there was no ivory in stock.

It contended that the forest department takes over the pieces cut in the presence of their officials, along with the dust generated during the cutting of the tusks, and keeps them in their custody.

"The Devaswom only bears the cost of cutting the tusks," it said.

It also contended that no gold had been lost from the temple and the entire stock of the precious metals, including silver, was accounted for and safely kept in lockers.

The Devaswom further said that any gold that is not used for temple needs is melted and turned into bars and deposited in the SBI Bullion Branch in Mumbai under the gold deposit scheme. "It earns interest there," the Devaswom said.

It further said that it has never entrusted the refining of gold and silver items to private individuals or institutions. "This is done with utmost security at the Government of India mint, and the stock is recorded," it said.

Regarding references to the audit report in the news articles, the Devaswom said that it has submitted a statement in the Kerala High Court about issues mentioned in the 2019-20 audit report, and therefore, it cannot comment on the matter.

It said that the way a section of the media was "deliberately making false stories" against Guruvayur Devaswom is completely ridiculous, and a complaint will be filed with the Press Council of India and the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regarding it.

The news emerged amid controversy over the disappearance of gold from the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala.