KOCHI: The Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court on Friday ordered a Quick Verification (QV) into the sale of gold lockets after allegedly accepting demonetised notes at Chottanikkara temple in November last year.
The QV has been ordered against Special Devaswom Commissioner of the Cochin Devaswom Board (CDB) Haridas, CDB Assistant Commissioner E K Manoj, Devaswom Manager of the Chottanikkara Devaswom Biju Kumar, proprietor of Hotel Ganesh Bhavan in Chottanikkara Gopi, a manager of Vijaya Bank and a former member of the Devaswom Board.
The court ordered SP, Special Cell of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau Ernakulam, to conduct the QV and file a report before July 4.
The QV was ordered following a petition by Abhilash S of Thiruvankulam, who alleged the respondents conspired to facilitate the exchange of demonetised currency.
He alleged 32 gold lockets (weighing 10 gm each) worth Rs 9.76 lakh were sold at the temple on November 9, a day after the Union Government withdrew the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, while 80 lockets worth Rs 24.48 lakh were sold on November 10 by accepting the demonetised notes and using fake documents.
Demonetised notes worth Rs 56.04 lakh were exchanged between November 8 and November 15, he said.