Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple employee held for milk theft

An assistant storekeeper at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple has been apprehended for allegedly stealing 25 litres of milk.

The accused, Sunil Kumar, was caught by the temple vigilance team following suspicion of large quantities of milk being regularly smuggled from the temple. Official sources stated the employee was caught red-handed on the basis of CCTV footage.

This incident comes in the wake of the mysterious disappearance of a gold rod weighing nearly 13 sovereigns last month. The staff, which went missing from a strong room during renovation works under way at the temple, was later found concealed in sand nearby. The rod, an alloy of gold and cadmium alloy, was used for gold plating work on the door of the sanctum sanctorum.

As part of the ongoing investigation into the suspected gold theft, the Fort Police approached the court seeking permission to conduct polygraph tests on five temple employees and three workers involved in the gold plating work. The questioning apparently yielded contradictory statements.

The fact that it was discovered buried in sand near a relatively isolated area and that the CCTV cameras in the vicinity were non-functional has led to increased scrutiny. The police have questioned over 60 people in connection with the case, including temple staff, goldsmiths and police personnel assigned to temple security.