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CHENNAI: Officials of the Hindu religious and charitable endowments department were in for a surprise when they found an online advertisement seeking to sell a house owned by a temple at Triplicane.

The house on BB Road belongs to Theerthapaleeswarar temple. Based on a complaint from temple officials, The Triplicane police have arrested Sadiq Basha who placed the advertisement on OLX, an online marketplace.

"The house was given on rent to Kasim a few decades ago. But now the house is under lock and key and nobody lives in it. A few days ago, devotees coming to the temple asked us about the advertisement in OLX," temple executive officer K S Narsonai told TOI.

Soon, temple officials checked and found that the advertisement had put the house for sale for 25 lakh. "The advertisement said it is a temple land which is up for sale along with a building. It also said the house is in good condition and ready to move in. It has a borewell as well as metrowater facility," said Narsonai.

The temple officials called up the online platform for confirmation. "We were told that it was Basha who placed the ad. But the advertisement said the property was listed by the builder and that the building with a ground and first floor was in good condition," said the official.

"We rushed to the building but could not find Kasim and the house was locked. We have taken charge of the building and also filed a complaint with the Triplicane police," said Narasonai.

Temple officials have written a letter to the registration department asking it not to register any property owned by the temple if it comes up for sale. "We have asked the registration department not to allow anyone to sell any property belonging to the Theerthapaleeswarar temple. We have given details about the property with survey number to the department," said Narasonai.

Though the Triplicane police have arrested Basha, the information has not been passed on to HR&CE officials. "We don't have any information about Basha but police said the investigation is going on," said Narasonai.

