Jayendra Saraswathi stopped from performing pooja

Saraswathi, the main accused in the case, was denied entry into an inner temple in Tamil Nadu.

Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi, the main accused in a temple official's murder, was on Thursday denied entry into an inner temple in Tamil Nadu.

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The senior pontiff of the Kanchipuram Mutt, who is out on conditional bail following the murder of temple official A Sankararaman, was denied entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram, about 500 km south of Chennai.

The beleaguered pontiff was kept out of the inner precinct of the ancient Rama temple by officials of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) department.

The pontiff, who now lives in the small town of Kalavai, was stopped in front of the inner sanctum of the temple by the HR and CE Joint Commissioner R Subramanian.

"No private person is allowed entry into the inner temple," Subramanian told the pontiff.

Jayendra Saraswathi then asked a priest to do the poojaon his behalf.