Sabarimala priest files new complaint

Kerela Govt has asked the state intelligence to ascertain details of Sabarimala priest's new complaints.

A day after the Sabarimala

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tantri

was sacked, following allegations of immoral activities, the Kerala government on Tuesday asked the state intelligence to ascertain the details of the priest's new complaints and the progress of the probe.

Meanwhile, the family of tantri Kantararu Mohanaru questioned powers of the Devaswom Board to restrain one of their members from temple duties.

The tantri episode took a new turn with Mohanaru filing a fresh complaint to the police saying he had on his own visited an apartment in Kochi to "collect a maidservant", retracting his initial version that he was abducted and taken to the apartment where he was forcibly photographed with a woman.

Apparently in view of the new development, state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan asked Additional DGP, Intelligence, to furnish a report after examining the tantri's complaints and investigations conducted on them.

Questioning the Travancore Devaswom Board's powers to stop Mohanaru from peforming duties at Sabarimala, his father and head of the Thazhamon tantri family, Kantararu Maheswararu said his son appeared to be the victim of a conspiracy to defame the family.

Maheswararu said family members had traditionally been the supreme authorities on spiritual matters of the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala and that had been upheld by courts.