AP govt orders probe into unauthorised tantric rituals in temple

Unauthorised rituals held by tantriks at the Kanadurga temple in Vijayawada on the night of December 26 has cost the temple executive officer her job and forced the government to initiate a probe on the whole issue.  

The pooja took place after the temple was closed to the general public with the connivance of chief priest Badrinath Babu.

On Wednesday, the endowments department based on prima facie evidence suspended A Surya Kumari pending inquiry and replaced her with Ramachandra Mohan, EO of Simhachalam temple in Visakhapatnam.

Sources said  Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has asked for a  detailed report about the desecration of the famous temple.  

So far, the Vijayawada Police have arrested three priests Pranav, Srujan and Raja who confessed to having performed "tantric pujas" at the behest of  chief  priest Badrinath Babu.

The EO who is under suspension speaking with media on Wednesday denied reports of tantric rituals saying that it was a routine cleansing process.

The CCTV footage, available with the police, shows that three priests along with an unidentified person performing some rituals after the closure of the temple hours.

Normally, the temple closes  to devotees for darshan of goddess Kanaka Durga at 9 pm.

However, the priests continued to perform bhairavi pooja  on the aggressive form of Durga in the inner temple till 12.45 am.