The Thiruvambady Devaswom has rejected the reported findings of the Crime Branch investigation into the disruption of the 2024 Thrissur Pooram and asked the new government to order a fresh, independent inquiry. The devaswom said its office-bearers had been named as accused without receiving any official communication about the report.
Devaswom secretary K Gireesh Kumar said the organisation learnt about the reported findings only through media reports. He objected to what he described as a process that had turned those who defended the festival into accused persons.
According to the report submitted by the Crime Branch investigation team to the police chief, eight people, including office-bearers of the Thiruvambady Devaswom, have been named as accused in the case. The reported charges include attempting to cause a riot, inciting rebellion against the government and promoting enmity between different groups.
Kumar said it was difficult to imagine that office-bearers who work throughout the year to conduct the Pooram would deliberately sabotage the festival. He also questioned the reported conclusion that the police had played no role in the disruption during the 2024 event.
The secretary said an investigation reaching that conclusion could only be considered a sham and called for a fresh probe into the incidents. The devaswom, he added, would extend its support to an independent inquiry.
The dispute places the findings of the Crime Branch report and the devaswom’s account of the festival disruption at the centre of a renewed public controversy. The reported charges have been attributed to the investigation report, while the devaswom has formally challenged its conclusions through the statement carried by Times of India.
Thrissur Pooram is a major public festival that requires coordination among organisers, authorities, police and large crowds. The disagreement over the investigation therefore extends beyond the allegations against individual office-bearers to questions about how responsibility is established when a large public event is disrupted.
The immediate next step sought by Thiruvambady Devaswom is a government decision on whether to order a fresh independent inquiry. The devaswom has said it will cooperate with such an investigation.
