Kochi: The Chottanikkara Bhagavathy Temple administration has filed a complaint with the police after discovering an alleged fraud in Malaysia using the temple’s name to sell fake puja materials and ‘prasadam’. 

According to the complaint submitted by the Devaswom manager to Chottanikkara police, a woman named Surya from Kuala Lumpur has been selling items online and through social media, falsely claiming they come from the temple. She has even been promoting them with bizarre assurances that the ‘kumkum’ and sandal paste, which are falsely promoted as the ‘prasadam’ from the temple, can “make anyone fall in love.” To make the scam look authentic, she allegedly posted TikTok reels shot inside the temple premises. 

However, the police are yet to register a case based on the complaint. Police sources said that the preliminary investigation done after the complaint was filed in March could not find any solid details to register the case. 

“First of all, the alleged fraud took place way beyond our jurisdiction. Moreover, we are yet to get any clear details of the woman seen in the video. We have already sought the help of cyber police, and a preliminary probe is happening,” said police sources. 

Sources at the temple administration said that they have been receiving calls from around the world seeking details of the fake products promoted by the woman. “That’s how we got to know about the scam. The temple does not sell any such products. Even some of the devotees who visited the temple enquired about the products. So we decided to file a complaint with the police,” said an official. 

The administration also fears that some staff or priests may be linked to the racket after videos emerged showing restricted areas being misused. One such clip shows the woman washing her feet in the sacred Arattu pond at the Keezhkavu shrine — a site that devotees can normally enter only during the Arattu festival.