Telangana: Offenders used mercury as offering

Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based industrialist Chukkapalli Suresh said that all the five persons, who were charged with conspiracy and were arrested for damaging the dwaja stambham at the the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, are innocent and are likely to be released on bail soon.

Mr Suresh had donated Rs 4.5 crore towards the gold plating of the dwaja stambham. On June 25, the stambham was reinstalled at a ceremony organised by the temple board, Kerala and Telangana state ministers and Mr Suresh.

In the afternoon, five devotees came to pray and poured mercury over the dwaja stambham, damaging the gold plating. The five were identified as Venkat Rao, E.N.L. Chowdary, Satyanarayana Reddy, Umamaheswara Reddy and Sudhakara Reddy. Based on CCTV footage, Kerala police arrested the five persons on charges of conspiracy and a court sent them to 14-day judicial custody.

According to the Kerala police, Mr Suresh of the Phoenix Group was on the hit list of Maoists and this episode made them approach the case on that premise.

During the course of investigation, the arrested persons revealed that it was customary in AP to offer navadanya (nine types of grains) along with mercury to the Lord.

Based on their statements, the Kerala police visited Vijayawada and enquired at the shop from where they had purchased the Navadanya and mercury. Vijayawada police also investigated their backgrounds and visited their residences. They reported that the five persons did not have any criminal background.

Mr Suresh said that as per the custom in some parts of Telugu-speaking states, offering mercury along with Navadanyas at the time the foundation of the dwaja stambham is laid assures wealth.

As they could not speak in English or Malayalam, the arrested persons were not able to explain their action to the police, he added.

“The Kerala police has now realised the truth and are altering the sections filed in the FIR to ‘petty case’ from ‘conspiracy’. Most probably, the five persons will get bail soon,” said Mr Suresh.

Timeline of the incident
June 25: The Travancore Devaswom Board, Telangana minister G. Jagadish Reddy and Mr Chukkapalli Suresh, who donated Rs 4.5 crore for gold-plating the dwaja stambham, participate in the reinstallation ceremony.
 In the afternoon, the five arrested persons from Krishna district visit the temple, pour mercury at the base of the pole, destroying the gold plating.
June 26: Kerala police sends the five arrested to judicial custody for 14 days. Forensic officials visit Sabarimala and confirm that the damage to the gold mast was due to the mercury. All the five persons are interrogated and it was revealed that some of them had been visiting Sabarimala for the last 30 years after completing the rigorous 41-day deeksha.
June 27: Kerala police goes to the shop in Vijayawada from where the five persons purchased navadanya and mercury.