A treasure trove of gold, diamonds and precious stones hidden for centuries has been discovered in the underground vaults of a temple in southern India, sparking authorities to scramble armed police to guard the shrine.
The treasure, estimated to be worth over €1 billion, was found in the 16th century Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, the royal chapel of the former rulers of Travancore, which is now part of Kerala state.
Local media said that the search team's finds included a solid gold statue studded with emeralds, three diamond-studded crowns and 1,000 gold necklaces, one of which was said to be over 5m long and 2.5kg in weight.
Also found were 17kg of gold coins dating back to the East India Company period and thousands of pieces of antique jewellery studded with precious jewels.
“Most of the articles found in the temple are offerings made by devotees and wealth the erstwhile rulers of the Travancore princely state had stored in the temple," the temple official said on conditions of anonymity.
Hundreds of armed police were deployed around the temple and metal detectors were set up at the entrance after the first reports of the treasure came out yesterday.
The value put on the treasure is greater than the amount the federal government spends on education annually.
Intellectuals and religious leaders debated on how to use the wealth. A mob attacked the house of an activist who demanded it be used to public purposes.
Several temples in India have billions of dollars worth of wealth as rich devotees and royalty donate gold and other precious objects, and run schools, colleges and hospitals.
The Tirumala temple in eastern Andhra Pradesh state is reported to have 3,000kg of gold, a third of which it deposited with the State Bank of India last year.
The royal family still controls the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, unlike other temples in Kerala which are managed by the government. The government appoints priests and scrutinises budgets.
The vaults were searched after a local lawyer petitioned a court to order the government to take over the temple as it did not have adequate security to protect its wealth. India's top court had then set up a committee to open the long-sealed vaults and take stock of the treasure.