Thaindian News

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 1 (IANS) A Supreme Court appointed committee of experts Monday began documentation of the Rs.1 lakh crore worth of treasure uncovered in the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple here.

Director General of the National Museum, C.V. Ananda Bose, who heads the five-member panel, led his colleagues after 3 p.m into the place where the treasure has been stored in six vaults.

The experts emerged just before 7 p.m.

With the apex court asking the team not to make public its findings, Bose did not reveal much to the media.

“We went into the vaults and worked out a plan,” he said.

Asked what the plan was, he quipped: “The next plan is to implement the plan.”

An apex court bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice A.K. Patnaik appointed two committees in July and directed them to see that the entire process be videographed.

Bose’s committee will videograph and photograph the articles found in the temple. Another three-member panel headed by Justice M.N. Krishnan will oversee the work of this committee.

The decision on whether to open Vault B is yet to be taken.

Stocktaking of the treasure started after the late T.P. Sunderarajan, a former Indian Police Service officer, approached the apex court, alleging mismanagement of temple affairs. Sunderarajan, 70, died July 17.

The temple has six vaults, five of which have been opened on the orders of the Supreme Court.