Jaimala refuses to speak to inquiry panel from Kerala

Kannada actress Jaimala, who raised a storm with her confession on entering the Sabarimala Temple, refused to speak to a team of officials from Travancore Devaswom Board, which had arrived in Bangalore from Kerala on a “fact-finding” mission yesterday.

The team of officials led by the Board’s Vigilance Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar had to return empty handed as the actress refused to meet them until she received written communication from the authorities in Kerala.

Jaimala’s claim on entering the Sabarimala Temple and touching the deity of Ayyappa when she was 27 years old has stirred up a hornets’ nest as the revered shrine is kept out of bounds for women aged between 10 and 50 years.

The team from the Board, which manages the affairs of the famous Sabarimala Temple, arrived in Bangalore yesterday in the wake of a notice issued by the Kerala High Court after a writ petition was filed on the controversial entry of a woman into the Sabarimala Temple.

Soon after their arrival in Bangalore, the team met Bangalore City Police Commissioner N Achyuta Rao in his office and sought his co-operation in the successful completion of their mission. Rao deputed Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Bipin Gopalakrishna to assist the Board officials in their duty.

But, when Bipin Gopalakrishna contacted actress Jaimala, she refused to meet the Board officials. Jaimala and her cinematographer husband Ramachandra maintained that they would not speak to any official unless they received written communication from the authorities in Kerala, Bipin Gopalakrishna told reporters.

Meanwhile, Ashok Kumar said the team had arrived in Bangalore on a “fact-finding” mission and not to conduct an “investigation” into the matter. The team had to submit a report to the Travancore Devaswom Board, which in turn would forward the report to the Government authorities for necessary action.

“If the actress refuses to talk to us, what can we do ? We will submit a report to the Board on whatever happened during our visit to Bangalore”, Ashok Kumar told reporters. The Board is scheduled to meet on July 7 to discuss the report and decide on the type of investigation necessary in the matter, he said.