HR & CE department suspends two trustees of Madukkarai temple

Coimbatore: The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department has suspended a ‘lifetime’ trustee of Arulmigu Dharmalingeswarar Temple at Madukkarai, after multiple allegations were levelled against him.HR and CE officials found that R K Krishnaswamy and four others had proclaimed themselves lifetime trustees of the temple, though no such post was sanctioned.Officials are also probing allegations of financial irregularities and mismanagement. The department has also suspended V Thirumurathi, another trustee appointed by Krishnasamy. HR and CE officials said they have retrieved 28 acres of temple land worth Rs 125 crore from encroachers. A probe was on to find out the people behind usurping the temple land along the L&T bypass road in Madukkarai.They said that they would do a complete audit of the land holdings of the temple and check if there are other encroachment. An audit of the temple finances would also be conducted on a regular basis, they said. Krishnaswamy and four others had declared themselves hereditary lifetime trustees based on an unregistered will by one Naramsimmaraju, a hereditary trustee who died in 1985, officials said.