Probe Cochin devaswom land grab: Kerala high court

KOCHI: A probe should be conducted into the encroachment of land belonging to the Cochin Devaswom Board, the high court suggested on Thursday.
The court’s suggestion was based on a report by the land revenue commissioner pointing to the possible involvement of the special tahsildar and the additional tahsildar in the issue.
The court was considering a suo moto case regarding encroachment of land adjoining the Vadayambadi Palace temple.The case was registered on the basis of an anonymous complaint received at the high court pointing out that the more than 200 acres in possession of the temple in 1975 had now shrunk to around 10 acres.
The commissioner had reported to the court that the special tahsildar had transferred landed property without verifying the documents properly and without obtaining the permission of the devaswom. Revenue officials also had supported the move, the commissioner’s report stated.