INDIA
The Hindu
The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee on Tuesday suspended Keshava Namboodiri from the post of ‘rawal’ (chief priest) of the Badrinath shrine after he was held in Delhi on the charge of molesting a woman.
Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee president Ganesh Godiyal said, “the committee has suspended Keshava Namboodiri from the post of chief priest.”
Keshava Namboodiri, from Kerala, was appointed ‘rawal’ in 2009.
“The responsibility now lies on Keshava Namboodiri to prove himself innocent. He will be reinstated if the court declares him innocent. However, he will be removed from the post only if the charges are proved,” Mr. Godiyal said.
V.C. Ishwara Prasad Namboodiri, the Naib-Rawal (deputy chief priest), would be given the responsibilities of the ‘rawal’ till then, he said.
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