Congress group rivalry leads to clash in Guruvayur temple

Kochi: The group rivalry among Congress members connected with the Guruvayur Dewasom  spilled into an open fight inside the temple premises on Wednesday forcing the scared devotees to flee the temple premise.

The fight broke out between Mr N. Raju, member of the Guruvayur  Dewasom Administration and Mr K.R. Sunilkumar, assistant manager and president of the Guruvayur Dewasom Employees Congress around 9.30 in the morning while the ‘Ulsava Bali’ was going on in the temple.

The two suffered injuries all over the body and Mr Sunilkumar was  admitted to Raja Hospital at Muthvattur while Mr Raju to the  Thrissur Medical College. The temple authorities will decide later whether to undertake any purification rituals as blood was spilled inside the precincts.

Mr Sunilkumar is the son of former minister K.K. Ramachandran Master.   Mr Raju is close to Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala while Mr Sunilkumar has close connections with Dewasom Board chairman T.V. Chandramohan.  

The incident took place inside the ‘Nalamabalam’ near the Hanuman Kovil in the presence of Devaswom administrator Muraleedharan and member Anil Tharanilam. The fight broke out over making arrangements for the Maharashtra Governor K. Shankaranarayanan and family members for worshipping inside the temple, sources said.     
Mr Sunilkumar reportedly asked Mr Raju, who was inside the temple premises, to make way for the governor and his family. Mr Raju refused and allegedly attacked Mr Sunilkumar leading to an open fight between the two.

  Mr Chandramohan said that Mr Sunilkumar was placed under suspension while a request was made to the government to take action against Mr Raju.   Guruvayur police said that they have registered two cases in connection with the incident as both parties filed complaints.