Faulty metal detectors guard Kerala temple treasure

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The four metal detectors placed at the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple - estimated to house treasure valued at Rs.1 lakh crore - are faulty, police said on Friday.

Additional Director General of Police Venugopal K. Nair, who is currently overseeing the security of the temple, told IANS that the metal detectors work on and off.

Asianet TV channel had earlier reported that of the four metal detectors kept at the four entrances leading to the main temple, two do not work while the other two always have the red light on.

The temple is managed by an executive committee, with the erstwhile Travancore royal family overseeing the affairs of the committee.

However, Aditya Varma, scion of the royal family, said that only one metal detector is faulty.

"I checked up with the officials and I was told that three are functioning, while the fourth one at times does not work. With this TV report, we will immediately see that if there are any errors, it would be rectified," Varma told IANS.

Last month, a Supreme Court appointed team while conducting a stock taking had stumbled upon precious jewellery, rubies and diamonds at one of the six vaults in the temple.

Vault A contains the most precious items and has not been opened for the past 150 years while Vault B is yet to be opened.

The second round of stock taking would begin early next month and the process would be videographed.

Meanwhile, Nair said that "very soon we will have our own state of the art security gadgets installed in and around the temple. At a given time, over 200 police officers are posted in and around the temple premises. We also have our men where the vaults are kept".