Two dolly workers were arrested for allegedly cheating Ayyappa devotees by offering to arrange darshan at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple .
The arrested were identified as Kannan (31) and Raghu R. (27), both natives of Peerumade in Idukki district. According to police, the incident occurred on October 18 when the hill shrine was open for the Thulam month pooja.
A group of devotees from Kasaragod had arrived for darshan. Amid the heavy rush at Sabarimala, the accused approached the group near Marakoottam and offered to take them directly for darshan, bypassing the queue. The devotees paid ₹10,000 to the duo, who took them up to the vicinity of Vavar shrine a Sannidhanam and then disappeared.
Following a preliminary inquiry by the Travancore Devaswom Board Vigilance into complaints of devotees being cheated, Pamba police registered a case. Police examined multiple CCTV camera visuals and identified the accused .
The accused were produced before the Ranni court and remanded to the Kottarakkara sub-jail on Thursday.
Police said a recommendation has been sent to the Travancore Devaswom Board to cancel the dolly permits of the accused.
Published – October 30, 2025 11:12 pm IST
