TDB to examine whether fake 'chembola' finds reference in SC case documents

Thiruvananthapuram: N Vasu, the president of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), on Friday said the apex temple body would examine whether any document submitted to the Supreme Court related to the Sabarimala case had the reference of a fabricated manuscript, possessed by the self-styled antique dealer Monson Mavunkal.

He said he has no knowledge whether the controversial 'chembola' (a copper plate manuscript) regarding Sabarimala rituals was submitted as evidence to the apex court in connection with the women entry issue and there was no official record indicating that.

"The Travancore Devaswom Board has no such document. I have given directions to examine whether any document, submitted to the court, has the reference regarding the Chembola," he told television channels.

His response came days after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had rejected the opposition charge that his government had used the fabricated manuscript to dupe people during the time of Sabarimala women entry issue.

The Congress-led opposition on Tuesday alleged that the self-styled antique dealer Monson Mavunkal, who was arrested recently, had tried to dupe people regarding the rituals at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple using the fabricated manuscript and the Marxist party government also had a role in it.

"The allegation that the government had tried to deceive people by fabricating the chembola regarding the rituals at Sabarimala is baseless. Since all such matters are coming under the purview of the Crime Branch inquiry, no further details can be divulged right now," Vijayan had said.

He had also said a letter has been given to the the Archaeological Survey of India and the Archaeological Department to probe the antiquity of the articles found in the collection of the accused.

The 'Chembola' became a topic of political controversy after Mavunkal's arrest last week by the Crime Branch in connection with a cheating case.

A section of the media had reported earlier that the 'chembola', possessed by Mavunkal, had references about the ownership and rituals of the Lord Ayyappa Temple.

The Pandalam royal family, the erstwhile custodians of the hill shrine, demanded an inquiry into the allegations whether the fake document was used by the Vijayan government as evidence in the apex court to support its arguments favouring the entry of young women into the Sabarimala Temple.