2 Sabarimala employees caught with mouthful of currency notes
The accused were carrying a few currency notes in their mouths.
The accused were carrying a few currency notes in their mouths.
The accused were carrying a few currency notes in their mouths.
A Devaswom Vigilance team arrested two temporary employees of the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala in connection with an alleged hundi theft. The accused, Sunil G Nair (51) and Gopakumar M G (51), are natives of Alappuzha. Police took them into custody on Wednesday.
The team found the theft during a routine check conducted on Tuesday at around 1 pm. Officials intercepted the duo while they were leaving after completing their duty at the Sabarimala hundi. During the inspection, officials recovered foreign and Indian currency from them.
"The accused were carrying a few currency notes in their mouths. After noticing this, officials conducted a further investigation and found more currency in their possession," Sannidhanam SI Vishnu V told Onmanorama.
From Sunil, vigilance officials seized a €20, a Canadian $5, and a UAE dirham 50 notes. From Gopakumar, officials recovered Malaysian 50- and 100-ringgit notes and a ₹500 note.
After unearthing the theft, the Travancore Devaswom Vigilance Sub-Inspector conducted a search at the place where the accused were staying. During the inspection, officials recovered from Sunil’s bag 50 ₹500 notes, two €10 notes, four €20 notes, three €50 notes, one Myanmar Kyat 1,000 note, two Myanmar Kyat 5,000 notes, two UAE 100-dirham notes each, and two Omani currency notes of 100 baisa each.
From Gopakumar’s bag, officials seized 27 notes of ₹500, two notes of ₹100, four notes of ₹20, four notes of ₹10, two Singapore $50 notes, two Myanmar Kyat notes of 5,000 each, two UAE 100-dirhams notes, one Malaysian ringgit note, and a gold-coloured locket weighing approximately 2 gm.
Devaswom Vigilance officials later handed them over to Sannidhanam police. The duo was remanded to judicial custody.