Kerala temple necklace found after 29 yrs

A gold necklace, similar to one that was part of the ‘thiruvabharanam’ – sacred jewellery of the deity – at the Sri Krishna Temple in Guruvayoor, was found in a temple well on Friday, 29 years after it was reported missing.

The stone-studded, 60-gm ‘nagapada thaali’ was found in a well near the sanctum sanctorum of the temple when it was being cleaned.

The gold necklace is one of the three ornaments that were reported missing from the temple in 1985.

The incident had triggered a controversy, which even led to cornering of the then chief minister, K Karunakaran. The temple head priest and his family were also brought under the scanner for alleged theft of the ornaments.

In the early 1990s, the state police closed the investigation after having failed to make a breakthrough. Workers found the ornament while cleaning the slush at the bottom of the well.

Small idols and vessels were found the last time it was cleaned.

T V Chandramohan, chairman of the Guruvayoor Devaswom managing committee, told reporters that it was early to comment on the authenticity of the ornament.
“The necklace we found today looks similar to one of the three ornaments that we lost in 1985.

But we have to check the court records and the temple’s stock register before ascertaining that the necklace is original,” Chandramohan said.

He said it would remain in the custody of the temple administrator while the assessment was on.