Chennai: A man who attempted to walk over a cliff as a form of prayer to come around a temple slipped and fell down 2,400 feet. The incident happened at Thalaimalai Perumal temple on Saturday.
The deceased was identified as 42-year-old Arumugam, a load auto driver. Apparently, Arumugam attempted the dangerous act hoping for a child. He had already walked twice around the temple and was on his last lap. But the dangerous path around the temple had only room to keep your feet and space to hook your fingers at the edge of what is literally a cliff.
Devotees were walking carefully as the narrow path had turned slippery following rains. A video that went viral showed how confidently Arumugam climbed over the cliff, slipped and within seconds vanished into the deep gorge without any noise.
Adding to the woes of Arumugam's family, authorities maintained that they cannot take action without any formal complaint. However, it was later revealed that the rescue operation was delayed due to jurisdiction issue.
Thalaimalai Perumal temple is located on the cliff that falls under Trichy police jurisdiction and the side where Arumugam had fallen belonged to Namakkal district police zone.
Even after the video became viral, there was no action from the police. Arumugam's relatives who saw the video, were shocked and they filed a complaint with the cops. Later fire and rescue service was informed but it was too late as it had became dark and the rescue was delayed until Sunday morning.
Finally Arumugam's body was retrieved later in the afternoon. No authorities have come forward to give any sort of explanation over the much delayed rescue operation yet.
