Was it a jumbo fix for Jaya?

The Guruvayur Devaswom managing committee has decided to hold an inquiry into allegations that the victory of tusker Krishna donated by J. J...

The Guruvayur Devaswom managing committee has decided to hold an inquiry into allegations that the victory of tusker Krishna donated by J. Jayalalithaa to Guruvayur temple in the elephant race conducted here was ‘‘manipulated’’ by vested interests to curry favour with the TN Chief Minister.

After a meeting today, the committee deputed members R. Rajasekharan and A.M. Gopalan to conduct the probe and submit a report to the committee, Devaswom chairman K. Velayudhan Nambiar said.

It was alleged that another elephant, Kannan, an eight- time winner of the race, was ahead of all other elephants

till the half-way mark. But later, it was deliberately slowed down to make way for Krishna and ensure the latter’s victory.

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As the winner of the Anayottam, Krishna is kept in the temple for festival days and is privileged to carry the deity. But the young tusker is not accustomed to temple rituals and the huge crowds inside the temple. As it created minor problems during processions, the priests are afraid to mount him with the deity. Another young tusker, Krishna Narayan, has taken over Krishna’s duties for now.

When the devotees and a managing committee member alleged a conspiracy behind the victory of this elephant, Devaswom administrator K. Anil Kumar placed the matter before the committee.