TIRUVANNAMALAI: A 31-year-old supervisor at the Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai has been suspended after a female sanitary worker employed at the temple alleged that he harassed her on call.
The suspended supervisor, Satheesh, has worked at the temple for the past 15 years. He was responsible for crowd management and arrangements for the goddess Adishekam, besides supervising and allocating work to the sanitary staff.
According to official sources, Satheesh often yelled at female sanitary workers. In particular, a 31-year-old sanitary worker accused him of harassing her on call after she spoke against him. It was further alleged that Satheesh forced the sanitary workers to work beyond the prescribed eight hours.
Upon receiving the complaint, the temple’s Joint Commissioner and Executive Officer of the HR&CE Department, J Bharanitharan, constituted an inquiry committee. A preliminary investigation revealed that Satheesh had abused the worker over the phone, and an audio clip of the conversation subsequently went viral. Based on the findings, the temple authorities suspended Satheesh on Saturday.
The alleged incident took place on March 23, 2024. Further investigations are underway.