CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has placed eight personnel of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department under suspension following the alleged theft of a temple hundi during the counting of offerings at the Arulmigu Koniamman Temple in Coimbatore.
The disciplinary action, ordered by HR&CE Minister Ramesh, comes after an internal inquiry into the incident that allegedly occurred on July 15 at the temple on Big Bazaar Street. Besides departmental action, the government has also directed that a police case be registered, and a criminal investigation is under way.
According to the HR&CE Department, four temple employees allegedly removed one hundi in a planned manner during the counting of offerings. The suspended employees are Balasubramaniyan, a ticket salesman; Saravanan, an office assistant; Pradeep Kumar, a temple employee; and Krishnaraj, a priest.
Action has also been initiated against four officials for alleged supervisory lapses. Those suspended include Circle Inspectors Ramkumar and Udhayakumar, Executive Officer Kumar and Assistant Commissioner Usha Nandini.
“The government will not tolerate any irregularity in the administration of temples. Strict action has been taken against those directly involved in the incident as well as officials who failed in their responsibility to prevent or detect it,” Minister Ramesh said.
The minister said criminal proceedings had been initiated alongside departmental action to ensure a thorough investigation into the incident.