Thiruvananthapuram | The Travancore royal family in Kerala on Saturday refuted the allegations of valuables going missing from the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple here.
Aditya Varma, a member of the erstwhile royal family, told a TV channel that all the valuables alleged to be missing are present right next to the temple's principal deity -- Lord Vishnu in the form of Anantha Padmanabhaswamy.
Anantha Padmanabha is the titular deity of the erstwhile royal family.
Varma also questioned the veracity of the police report which claimed valuables were missing from the temple.
"The police in the temple, the shrine's administrative committee's chairman who is a sitting District Judge of Thiruvananthapuram and other members of the panel, none of them were aware about any missing valuables.
"So, on what basis was the one-sided police report made? It is surprising," he said.
He further said that a personal verification was carried out and the items claimed to be missing were present in their usual place, right next to the principal deity.
Varma said that letters will be sent to the State Police Chief, the Chief Minister, Home Minister and the Devaswom Minister to find out the truth behind what happened.
On the claims of security lapses and some guests using the temple path exclusively meant for the royal family, Varma denied the same.
He said that he has never taken anyone with him on the "Chembakathinmoodu" pathway exclusively meant for the royal family and temple priests.
'We don't take guests along with us. We only take our close family members or relatives along with us," he contended.
However, the government has decided to launch an investigation into the alleged security lapses and missing valuables at the temple.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Padmanabhaswamy Temple committee had said that a detailed internal verification found that the diamond ornament described as "missing" in the police report was safely kept inside the sanctum sanctorum.
The committee said a report submitted by the temple executive officer, following an inspection of ornaments, lamps and inventory records, confirmed that gold coins, gold bars and other offerings made by devotees were securely preserved and properly accounted for.
The panel had also rejected allegations of security breaches and maintained that all devotees, staff members and guests entering the temple were subject to screening by the Kerala Police security wing stationed at the shrine.
The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, managed by a committee representing both the Centre and the Kerala government, is one of India's richest and most prominent temples.
In 2011, several underground vaults at the temple were opened following a Supreme Court order directing an inventory of the assets, revealing vast treasures of gold, jewels, and precious stones estimated to be worth billions of dollars.