THRISSUR: The auction of Mahindra Thar, offered by the company’s managing director Anand Mahindra to Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple, on Saturday courted controversy after only one person attended it and the Devaswom refused to hand over the vehicle saying its administration has to ratify the auction.
Kechery native Subhash Panicker represented Bahrain-based Keralite Amal Mohammed Ali in the auction and bid Rs 15.10 lakh for the limited edition red colour SUV, the base price of which was set at Rs 15 lakh.
Soon after the auction process got over, certain sections of Guruvayur Devaswom protested and the managing committee decided to discuss the matter at its next meeting on Tuesday. Meanwhile, reports quoted Amal as saying that he would approach court if Guruvayur Devaswom refuses to hand over the SUV.
Mahindra had offered the vehicle during his visit to the temple on December 4. Since the off-road vehicle cannot be used for devaswom’s daily purposes, its managing committee decided to auction it. “The managing committee will take a decision on finalising the auction process and handing over the vehicle at its next meeting,” said Devaswom chairman K B Mohandas, who added the final decision on the auction was entrusted with the managing committee.
“A few people had contacted us expressing their interest in the auction, but all of them were either abroad or out of state. Though we had shared the account details of the devaswom to deposit a guarantee amount to take part in the auction, no one did it. On the day of the auction, a person representing Amal took part and won it,” said Mohandas. As per the regulations, the financial transactions have to be ratified by the managing committee and devaswom commissioner. Some members in the managing committee felt the auction would invite criticism as only one person attended it.