Palakkad: The allegation that a gold locket purchased from the Guruvayur temple was fake has been proven false, the Devaswom said on Wednesday. K P Mohandas, a resident of Ambalappara in Ottapalam, Palakkad, had claimed on May 13 that the gold locket he bought from the Guruvayur Devaswom was counterfeit.
Mohandas had filed a complaint at Ottapalam police station, stating that he found out the locket was fake when he went to pledge it at the Ambalapara branch of the Ottapalam Co-operative Bank. He had also demanded compensation from the Guruvayur Devaswom. Following this, political parties, including the BJP, called for an investigation into the matter.
As the issue garnered public attention, the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee lodged a complaint with the police and brought Mohandas to Guruvayur for an inspection of the locket. The locket was examined at two jewellery shops in Guruvayur and a government-approved institution in Kunnamkulam that tests the quality of gold.
The locket was certified as 22-carat gold, as announced by Devaswom Chairman Dr V K Vijayan. The certification was presented to the media and the police in the presence of the complainant. Despite this, the complainant maintained that the locket was not gold.
It was only after the police recorded his statement on video that Mohandas admitted he was convinced the locket was indeed gold. He subsequently apologised to the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee officials and the police.
Vijayan mentioned that there was suspicion that some vested interests might have influenced the complainant to falsely claim that the locket, made with gold sourced from the 'mint' under the Central Government in Mumbai, was fake. He also stated that the misleading information spread through the media caused concern among devotees, and legal action would be taken in this regard.
