‘Trespassers’ near Sabarimala temple triggers row

A group of persons trespassed into the restricted forest areas associated with the Makaravilakku festival of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple and posted videos of conducting some poojas.

The incident triggered a row with Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the hill shrine, suspecting a bid to tarnish the image of the temple. The Kerala forest department has started a probe into the matter.

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In the video that has gone viral on social media, a person dressed up like a priest could be seen performing poojas at Ponnambalamedu, where the Makaravilakku lamp is lit on the Makaravilakku festival day. Four others could also be seen in the spot, which is deep in the forest, about four kilometres from the temple.

The person conducting the poojas was suspected to be a Tamil Nadu native who had previously worked as an assistant to a former temple sub-priest. He had faced action for misconduct earlier.