THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Yet another theft incident has come to light at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, this time involving a store employee. According to the officials of the temple’s vigilance wing, the staffer had been stealing 10 litres of milk, meant for use at the temple, every day. He had been under surveillance following repeated complaints.
A tip-off led the vigilance team to the ‘Annadanapura’ area of the temple, where milk packets were found abandoned. According to sources, the CCTV visuals later confirmed his involvement. It is suspected that he had been diverting milk supplied by Milma for unauthorised sale outside the temple. Sources also indicate that he returned the stolen packets to the Annadanapura after learning that he was being watched.
The temple’s vigilance wing has launched a formal inquiry into the incident. A detailed report is expected to be submitted within two days. “A total of 20 packets were found to have been taken. The CCTV footage has confirmed his involvement. Given the earlier complaints, we were already suspicious. The investigation is under way and no action has been taken against him yet,” said a vigilance official on condition of anonymity.
The latest is the second theft reported at the temple within two months despite tight security. In the previous case, a 107g of gold rod used for soldering purposes went missing from the strongroom. It was later recovered two days later, buried in the soil and wrapped in cloth. Following contradictory statements from suspects, the Fort Police sought court permission to conduct polygraph tests on eight men.