'VIP darshan' to actor Dileep: TDB issues notices to four officials

Pathanamthitta: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has issued show cause notices to four officials for allegedly facilitating “VIP darshan” for Malayalam actor Dileep at the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala during the ongoing pilgrimage season.

TDB president P S Prasanth on Sunday said that the officials were served notices after lapses were identified, which reportedly disrupted the darshan of several devotees for a few minutes.

“Stringent action will be taken after receiving their explanations,” Prasanth told reporters at Sannidhanam.

The incident sparked controversy after reports emerged that Dileep was granted special darshan at the Sabarimala shrine on Thursday, during the highly crowded Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season, which draws massive numbers of devotees from Kerala and neighboring states.

The Kerala High Court on Friday slammed the police and the TDB for providing “VIP darshan” to actor Dileep at the hill shrine on December 5 which “hindered” darshan of many devotees who had stood in line for several hours.

A bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and Muralee Krishna S questioned on what basis such privilege was given to the actor and directed that the CCTV footage of the same be submitted in the court.

The court took up the issue on its own based on news reports of the “special VIP darshan” given to Dileep, prompting the TDB to act against the officials.