MADURAI: Six employees of the famed Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram have been placed under temporary suspension after an internal inquiry allegedly uncovered large-scale irregularities in the preparation and sale of prasadam. The alleged fraud, which involved the unauthorised sale of laddus, amounted to over Rs 3.4 crore.
Temple administration sources said the irregularities surfaced during a surprise inspection conducted by joint commissioner and executive officer K Chelladurai on March 14. Officials found major discrepancies between daily sales records and the stock of raw materials used for preparing laddus and other prasadam items. A subsequent audit of the storage facilities revealed shortages of 1,145 kg of sugar, 439.5 kg of murukku flour, 373.5 kg of jaggery, 216 kg of gram flour and more than 1.4 lakh butter covers, sources said.
Officials said the fraud was linked to the free prasadam distribution scheme introduced on December 31, 2023, under which devotees were entitled to receive free 30-gram laddus.
However, the inquiry found that raw materials meant for the scheme were diverted to prepare nearly 1,000 commercial 50-gram laddus every day. These laddus were allegedly sold through temple counters and proceeds misappropriated by those involved.
The inquiry also found that premium ingredients such as cardamom, cashews and ghee were either reduced or omitted despite purchase bills being raised in temple accounts.
Officials further alleged that additional raw materials were illegally procured from outside markets to produce excess stock beyond the temple’s authorised limit in an attempt to conceal the scale of the fraud. The inquiry revealed that certain officials had allegedly collected Rs 30,000 each from temporary workers under the guise of administrative charges for employment.
Based on bank transaction details and statements collected during the inquiry, the temple administration on May 5 ordered the suspension of junior assistant K Panchamoorthi; junior assistant T Lavanya; ticket seller K Ambika; assistant Selvi; cleaning staff C Sivaneswari; and guard P Vikram.
Three daily wagers, including machine operator Prabu Ravi and workers Nithyanandam and Balaji, were terminated from service. Officials said a detailed report has been forwarded to the HR&CE department for further action.