Ernakulam Siva temple advisory panel accuses Devaswom officer of festival accounts irregularities, seeks independent audit

The stand-off between the Ernakulam Siva Temple Advisory Committee and the temple Devaswom Officer over accounts related to the temple festival held in January further intensified after the committee on Monday (September 7, 2026) shot off a second letter in three days to the Cochin Devaswom Board Commissioner, alleging manipulation of accounts by the officer.

In its fresh complaint, the committee demanded an immediate independent audit of the accounts relating to the 2025–26 festival and related temple finances by an authority unconnected with the temple’s routine administration.

It accused Devaswom officer Akhil Damodaran of attempting to manipulate financial records and expenditure accounts by engaging third parties. The letter urged urgent steps to secure and preserve all relevant financial records, vouchers, ledgers, and related documents to prevent further tampering.

It demanded that Mr. Damodaran and others shall be restrained from accessing or altering the accounts pending inquiry. Future financial dealings, it insisted, should be conducted with full transparency and in consultation with the Advisory Committee, demanded the letter by Ashok Kumar S and R.

Ramakrishnan, president and secretary of the Advisory Committee respectively. Mr. Damodaran dismissed the allegations as stemming from “personal vengeance” after he lodged complaints against some committee members over the conduct of temple affairs.

“As per the by-law of the Cochin Devaswom Board, clearing the financial statements of the temple is the responsibility of the Advisory Committee secretary, while the Devaswom Officer’s role is limited to assisting him. I have informed the committee that the accounts related to the festival will be ready for approval by September 16, for which I engaged two employees from the Devaswom Board.

Yet, the committee hurriedly convened a meeting on September 3 and passed a resolution against me,” he said. Countering this, Mr. Kumar said the Devaswom Officer is also entrusted with the role of treasurer, making him responsible for clearing accounts.

He alleged that Mr. Damodaran continues in the post beyond the usual two-year term as a political nominee of the CPI(M). “We have been asking him to clear the accounts for the last three months, but to no avail,” Mr. Kumar said.

At its September 3 meeting, the committee passed a unanimous resolution levelling serious financial and administrative irregularities in the conduct of the temple’s 2025-26 annual festival by Mr. Damodaran and Mr. Vinandan.

The committee alleged that over ₹3 crore was collected for the festival. The Devaswom Commissioner could not be reached despite repeated attempts.