THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The alley that led to the western entrance of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple looked deserted on Sunday afternoon, except for a few vehicles, including those that had come to the nearby police control room. But only a few moments ago, the alley was crowded with people and the media who had thronged the place hearing about the demise of the controversial man who was instrumental in bringing out the greatest hidden wealth that the country has ever seen; advocate T P Sundararajan. Sundararajan, who died around 12.45 am on Sunday, was cremated with religious ceremonies at the crematorium at Puthankotta, near Manacaud, around 12.30 pm. The crowd that gathered outside his residence disappeared soon after his body was taken to the crematorium. An unmoved priest at a small temple adjacent to Sundararajan’s residence piously performed the rituals, even while the body was being taken to the crematorium. Talking to City Express, the neighbours of the former IPS officer took the opportunity to vent out their anger against him for calling in the attention of the whole world to the temple’s immense wealth. Many believed that it was the wrath of the Lord that Sundararajan invited through his legal ventures that had brought about his unexpected demise. "His fate was foretold,’’ was the response of Sundaram, a typist living in the same ‘Agraharam’. ‘’We all knew that that there was immense wealth stored in the chambers inside the temple. But his a adamant stand has put the safety of the wealth in uncertainty. The sanctity of the temple was also lost after police and armed personnel were deployed in and around the temple,’’ he said.His neighbours remember him as an extremely devout man who would visit the temple four or five times a day. ‘’He was a man who would go to the time five times daily. He subsisted on the ‘nivedyam’ offered by the temple,’’ says Giri Neelakantan, a neighbour.Hari, an employee at a new generation bank, residing right opposite to the residence of Sundararajan, said that he was fit as a fiddle until a few days before his death, implying the possibility of divine intervention in his death. However, Sundararajan’s family rubbished all such claims. The advocate’s nephew, also named Sundararajan, told City Express that his uncle was ailing from fever for the past two days. The repeated requests of the family to move him to a hospital was dismissed by the former Supreme Court advocate. "He has left this world with extreme gratification, as his efforts had yielded results,’’ he added. The ‘sanchayanam’ ceremony of Sundararajan will be held on Monday.
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