Kottayam: Pearls adorning the sacred ornament worn over the idol of Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple have gone missing. The pearls adorning the rudraksha chain tied with gold went missing. 

This came to the notice of Padmanabhan Santhosh in the inspection after he took charge as the head priest (Melshanthi) of the temple. They have also found another chain that is not included in the official count of chains. 

There are around 23 grams of gold in the chain. 9 pearls are missing from the chain with has 81 pearls in total. The stolen pearls account for about 7 grams. The Devaswom Vigilance received the complaint regarding the theft and has begun investigation.  

When the head priests are changed, they are required to take count of the sacred ornaments adorning the idols and other puja materials. The missing pearls came to his notice after the inspection. The complete inspection of sacred ornaments is being carried out in the temple following the incident.  

Padmanabhan Santhosh took charge as the head priest last month. The inspection of sacred ornaments and other puja materials was done in the presence of the Devaswom assistant commissioner and other officials.