In the early of hours Tuesday, Malabar Devaswom Board (MDB) has taken over the Guruvayur Parthasarathy Temple under heavy police protection. The Hindu Aikya Vedi has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the district on Wednesday against the takeover of the Temple by the Malabar Devaswom Board.
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The MDB had sought the legal permission for taking over the temple from the court citing the alleged corruption in its governing committee. Two of its employees belonging to CITU had complained of corruption in the temple.
Following Orders from Chavakkad Magistrate Court and a High Court, a team led by Malabar Devaswom Board executive officer T. C. Biju and manager P. Sreekumar, entered the temple along with a large posse of plain clothesmen at 4.30 a.m on Tuesday to take over the temple.
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They later collected the keys of its bandarams along with cash and relevant documents kept in the officer from the manager who was in charge. Three ACPs including Guruvayur’s P. A. Sivadasan and seven circle inspectors and several officers stationed near the temple. Considering protests from devotees and HAV members, they had brought in water cannons.
Following a High Court order, the Malabar Devaswom Board tried to take over the temple on September 21. However, it could not take over the temple following protests by some Hindu organisations. They had conducted Statewide protests against the decision to take over the Parthasarathy temple.
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Meanwhile, the Sangh Parivar organisations, led by the Hindu Aikyavedi, has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Thrissur district on Wednesday in protest against the takeover.
BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan protested against the takeover of the temple by the board. In a statement issued in Thiruvananthapuram, he said the takeover amounted to violation of religious freedom and the Constitution. He said this would have serious ramifications.
