THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: TP Sunderarajan, who approached the apex court requesting a stock taking of the gold and jewels stored in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple near here, passed away early Sunday. He was 70.

He was suffering from fever for the past two days and was at his home near the temple when he died, a source close to him said.

His funeral will take place later in the day, he added.

A seven member committee formed by the apex court has completed the stock taking of five of the six vaults of the temple early this month. The treasure is unofficially estimated to be worth over Rs.one lakh crores.

Sunderarajan, a 1964 batch Indian Police Service officer, had approached the apex court citing that the temple affairs were being mismanaged. He wanted an estimation of the assets that remained untouched for several years.

He was part of the security ring of the former prime minister Indira Gandhi. He later quit his job and took up the legal profession.

SOURCE