Tainted TDB official Reghunathan Nair avoids interrogation

ALAPPUZHA: TDB officer Reghunathan Nair,  an accused in  the disappearance of the ornaments from the  Sreekrishna Swamy temple, Ambalappuzha, in April last year, appeared before the  State Temple Anti-Theft Squad (STATS), which  is probing the case, on Wednesday.  However, he said he  needed to check the files to answer the officers'  questions and left for Thiruvananthapuram to attend an official duty. 

The TDB Vigilance had earlier recommended  departmental action against him along with three other accused for 'lapses' in safekeeping the  ornaments.  However, he escaped action and secured promotion as deputy commissioner, Haripad. The investigation team which was camping at Ambalappuzha  asked him to appear at the Thiruvananthapuram office of STATS  next week,  sources said.

All other accused in the case, who are under suspension for the last three months, were questioned by the team at Ambalappuzha. The TDB Vigilance under Mr Ratheesh Krishnan, chief vigilance and security officer, which submitted a detailed report on April 25 last year to the then TDB chief Prayar Gopalakrishnan, had listed two lapses on the part of Mr. Nair:  he had given a false statement to the vigilance team and,  as a senior officer, he was negligent  in ensuring the safety of the  ornaments.

Mr Nair at that time was serving as assistant devaswom commissioner, Ambalappuzha group. However, the then board promoted him as deputy devaswom commissioner while three others--the then administrative officer  J. Murukasan, head priest Baburaj Namboodiri and assistant priest L. Sandeep-were  suspended. He had tried to defend himself in a letter sent to devaswom commissioner C.P. Ramaraja Prasad saying that he should not be subjected to disciplinary action since he had only ten months left to retire.

He was thereafter selected by the present board as Bhandaram special officer at Sabarimala ignoring an order issued by the devaswom commissioner on November 17 last year.   Mr R. Rajesh, head of the investigation team,   said that their chief Muhammad Yasin had asked them to wind up the probe at the earliest.  The temple ornaments, which were found missing on April 19, were traced from the cash boxes of the temple on May 23.  However, the culprit was not arrested.  The STATS took up the case after a devotee approached the High Court.