An alleged theft of hundi offerings at Coimbatore’s Koniamman Temple has led to action against four temple employees, after an inquiry by HR&CE Joint Commissioner Ramesh Kumar. Following the findings, a police complaint was lodged.
The temple has 16 hundis in total—nine permanent boxes, one for renovation donations, and six temporary hundis placed for the chariot festival. The counting of offerings was carried out on July 15 from 10 am to 9 pm in the presence of HR&CE officials.
During the process, one hundi was reportedly kept aside and concealed along with the already-counted boxes, escaping the notice of officials at the time. Later, temporary hundis were moved on a trolley.
A devotee is said to have witnessed an employee removing cash from a hundi behind the auditorium and placing it in a bag, and alerted HR&CE officials in Chennai. CCTV footage from July 15 was reviewed, and four staff members—ticket seller Balasubramanian, office assistant Saravanan, thiruvilakku staff Pradeepkumar and priest Krishnaraj—were identified as having acted together.
During the inquiry, the staff allegedly admitted that the cash was taken to Balasubramanian’s house, amounting to Rs 31,000, and was shared among the four the next day. Temple Executive Officer Kumar has filed a complaint at Ukkadam police station, and officials said departmental action would follow after an FIR is registered.
