Chennai: Three temporary staff at the Arulmigu Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam were on Tuesday night booked after a scuffle with a group of devotees from Andhra Pradesh in which two were injured.
Since the injured suffered blood injuries, the temple’s Sanctum Sanctorum was closed for about 45 minutes and reopened only after a customary pooja.
The brawl between temporary staff employed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) department, which manages the temple, and a group of devotees from Andhra Pradesh took place at around 7 am. The devotees were returning from Kerala after a darshan at Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala.
Officials said the queue outside the Gayatri Mandapam was moving slowly as there was huge rush at the temple as Tuesday was the first day of the annual Vaikunda Ekadesi festival.
“The Ayyappa devotees were asking the temporary staff as to when the queue will move fast. Even before the staff could check the line, they began banging the undiyal and creating ruckus while standing in the queue. They were also preventing other devotees from having a darshan,” C Mariappan, Joint Commissioner, HR & CE, told DH from Srirangam.
“When our guards questioned their behaviour, the group dragged one of them by their hair and banged his head on the undiyal. Two devotees were also injured in the incident, and we have filed a police complaint. The other side has also preferred a complaint,” Mariappan added.
All five were admitted to a government hospital to get their injuries treated and police recorded their statements.
A senior police officer told DH that an FIR was registered against the temple staff acting on a complaint from the devotees. “The case was registered under non-bailable sections,” the officer added.
The incident triggered a political controversy with Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai blaming the DMK government.
“A government which has no faith in Hindu Dharma has no business to be in Hindu Temples. The devotees questioned the long wait in the queue and special treatment to a select few who were assaulted near the sanctum sanctorum & which resulted in bloodshed inside the Temple premises,” he said.
This arrogance of the HR & CE department is one of the many reasons why the BJP has been wanting them out of temple administration, Annamalai said, referring to the ‘Free Temples’ campaign.