Krishnagiri: The Hosur police on Thursday registered a first information report against three persons and unnamed Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) officials for renting out two shops built without permission on the temple premises.
After TOI reported about the unauthorised shops on April 19, Hosur tahsildar V Bandarinathan, inspected Sri Sankara Narayana Swamy Temple and confirmed that two shops had been constructed on temple land without getting the consent of the HR&CE department. He submitted a detailed report to collector C Kathiravan, who forwarded it to the state government seeking its nod for further action.
Meanwhile, founder and president of Chennai based NGO Tiruthoundargal Sabai A Radhakrishnan, who brought the issue to light, submitted a complaint with Salem range DIG T Senthil Kumar seeking police action against the encroachers and HR&CE officials who had been collecting the rent for the shops.
The DIG directed Krishnagiri SP D Mahesh Kumar to look into the issue. The SP instructed the Hosur police to file an FIR against the encroachers and the HR&CE officials who connived with them.
The temple priest Nagaraja Sharma, his son Vignesh Sharma, K R Radhakrishnan, owner of a rice go-down functioning on the temple premises, and a few HR&CE officials were mentioned in the complaint.
SP Mahesh Kumar said the names would be included in the FIR only after a detailed inquiry. “As of now, we have registered the case under Section 448 (punishment for house-trespass) and 3(1) of the Tamil Nadu Public Property Prevention and Damage and Loss Act of 1992,” he said and added that criminal charges would be framed against HR&CE officials if they were found guilty in the inquiry.