Kochi, March 6, 2024: Santhosh Madhavan, a controversial figure who claimed to be a godman, passed away today while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kochi. He was 54.

Madhavan, who donned the saffron robes and styled himself as Swami Amrithachaitanya, ran an ashram called ‘Shanthiteeram’. He was embroiled in numerous fraud cases and had been arrested multiple times.

His fraudulent activities came to light in 2008 when a Dubai businesswoman, Seraphin Edwin, filed a complaint against him for allegedly cheating her of Rs 40 lakhs. Following a police investigation based on the complaint, Madhavan was arrested.

Born into a poor family in Kattappana, Madhavan had a humble beginning. He studied up to class 10 at the Government High School in Kattappana and later left home. He eventually found his way to the Maradu Thuruthi Temple in Ernakulam, where he worked as a ‘santikkaran’ (temple assistant). This marked a turning point in his life.

Here is a timeline of some of the controversies surrounding Santhosh Madhavan:

• 2008: Seraphin Edwin, a Dubai businesswoman, accuses Madhavan of cheating her of Rs 40 lakhs.
• 2012: Madhavan is arrested for allegedly raping a woman in his ashram.
• 2013: He is arrested again for duping a woman of Rs 2 lakhs.
• 2015: Madhavan is accused of amassing wealth illegally and living a lavish lifestyle.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.

College Dean Dr.  MK Narayanan and Assistant Warden Dr Kanthanathan were suspended by the Vice-Chancellor.  By rejecting the explanation given by both of them and suspending them from their positions, the Vice Chancellor of the Veterinary University Dr.  PC Saseendran issued the order.

 Newly appointed VC PC Saseendran issued an order regarding the action.  Dean who is also in charge of Hostel Warden and Asst.  The action is against the warden.  Both were issued show-cause notices by the Vice-Chancellor.  The action was shown to be unsatisfactory even though the reply was given.  Dean replied that he had intervened after learning about Siddharth’s death and had done everything according to the law.  Both of them have informed that they went directly to the post-mortem.  Both explained that there was no fall in the incident.  The order said that the continued tenure of the duo would hinder a transparent investigation into Siddharth’s death.

 In the show cause notice, the VC had asked the duo why they were not aware of the incidents that took place in the hostel and the campus.  The college was closed yesterday following the incident.  

Mathew Kuzhalnadan MLA arrested.  DCC president Muhammad Shias was also arrested.  The action was taken for showing disrespect to the body of a housewife who was killed by an elephant in Kothamangalam and for creating tension by attacking the police officers.  Kothamangalam police had registered a case against about 30 people in the incident.

Thiruvananthapuram: Working hours of ration shops have been adjusted from March 5 to 9 to avoid server overload and speed up the distribution of ration.  In 7 districts it was arranged in the morning and in other 7 districts in the afternoon.  Mustering and distribution of rations will take place simultaneously on these days.  Work from 8 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 7 pm.  Ration shops will be closed on Shivratri day 8.

 Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam districts will operate from 5 to 7 in the morning and from 6 to 9 in the afternoon.  In other districts it will work from 6 to 9 in the morning and from 5 to 7 in the afternoon.

Thiruvananthapuram: Indian-made foreign liquor distributed in the state is getting a security label with 30 safety features.  Print a tag-based holographic tax label imprinted with a QR code.  Its feature is that the track and trace system is implemented in the liquor supply chain.

 Ensure product safety and efficient inventory management.  This technology will also enable the authorities to monitor the liquor distribution system completely in real time.  By scanning the QR code, any customer can know the details of the liquor, which warehouse it is stored in, and when the sale came into stock.

 The system also aims to end tax evasion completely.  The hologram is designed by C-Dit.  Currently, the trial run of the system is going on.  The brand new hologram will start appearing on liquor bottles very soon.  Beverages Corporation CMD Yogesh Gupta, Excise Commissioner Mahipal Yadav and CDIT Registrar Jayadev Anand AK signed the MoU regarding the hologram in the presence of Excise Minister MB Rajesh.