Controversy, Unnikrishna Panickers middle name

CHENNAI: Parappanangadi Unnikrishna Panicker, the astrologer who is now holding a devaprasanam at the Padavedu Rengammbal temple in Thiruvannamalai district, was accused of entering into a conspiracy with the aim of making money and fame when he held a similar ritual at the Sabarimala temple in 2006 and said that ‘a beautiful woman artiste had entered the sanctum sanctorum’, triggering a major controversy.Though Kannada actress Jayamala came out openly to declare that she had visited the Sabarimala shrine in 1986, when she was 27 years old and even touched the idol, it was found out later that the astrologer had made up the ‘revelation’ during the asthamangala devaprasanam and was subsequently char­ged with offences under IPC section 296(A) — ‘deliberate and malicious act, intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its relation or religious beliefs’.Since Jayamala retracted her statement, the needle of suspicion pointed towards Panicker, one of 21 astrologers who held the devaprasanam — an astrological ritual aimed at knowing the mind of the temple’s presiding deity — at Sabarimala in June 2006. Soon after the devaprasanam caused a furore, Sabarimala Thantri Kandararu Mohanararu said that Jayamala’s statement was a blatant lie and that the asthamangala prasanam itself needed to be probed. Later when Mohanaru was beaten up by some assailant, he filed a police complaint in which he said that his attackers had asked him how dare he opposed Panicker.While investigation revealed that Panicker had contacted Jayamala over mobile phone and instigated her to make the statement about her touching the idol of Lord Ayyappan, Mohanaru alleged that Panicker had visited the house of the actress in Bangalore twice and conducted poojas in 1997 and 1998. There was also another controversy over the devaprasanam when it was alleged that he had allowed his son-in-law Madhu to attend the rituals and jot down prasna viddhikal. It was also alleged in some quarters that the devaprasanam was conducted on June 16, 2006, which comes under the Avittam star and is unauspicious for such a ritual.Apart from that, it was said that a devaprasanam is normally held only when some untoward incident takes place and not at a time when all is well with the temple affairs.