Trust owners booked for advertising disbursal of Meenakshi Amman Temple kunkumam

MADURAI: Owners of a private trust in Madurai have been booked for advertising in social media that they would organise pooja on behalf of customers and send kunkumam from Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple if paid Rs 1,000 annually. Officials from the temple have clarified that the HR&CE department was the sole authority that has the power to carry out the advertised services.

The incident came to light when the department officials noticed an advertisement of Kaveri Seva Trust that said, "In order to get the grace of Goddess Meenakshi, interested persons can pay Rs 1,000 annually through post, DD or donation to trust's bank account. Upon receiving the amount, we would perform pooja in your names and send you the temple kunkumam as prasad every month."

"Seven persons had paid money to the trust so far. Officials took steps to send the money back to the devotees. The trust may not have launched the service to cheat anyone, but they don't have the authority to carry out these services," police said. Based on a complaint, Temple police have booked the trust owners under sections 418, 419, 420 and 511 of the IPC. Further investigation is on.