Kasaragod, Nov 22 : A temple priest in Kerala has been suspended after he allegedly posted abusive comments on social media against Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surerdran over the Sabarimala issue.

Action was taken against T Madhavan Namboothiri, the 'melsanthi' (chief priest) of the Madiyan Koolom Kshetra Palaka temple at Kanhangad near here, after the objectionable comments on his Facebook page were noticed.

The temple comes under the Malabar Devaswom Board, an apex temple body which manages a number of Hindu shrines in Malabar (north Kerala) region.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Board here on Wednesday and the suspension order was handed over to the priest by its executive officer P Vijayan, Board sources said.

However, the priest claimed that he is a hereditary trustee of the shrine and so he cannot be suspended.

The priest had allegedly posted abusive comments against the minister after BJP state general secretary K Surendran was arrested by police as he defied police orders not to go to the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

Surendran along with two others had been arrested on November 18 from Nilackal as he tried to proceed to the Lord Ayyappa Temple despite being advised by police personnel against visiting Sabarimala due to law and order issues.

However, a Pathanamthitta court Wednesday granted conditional bail to 72 people, including Surendran, arrested in connection with the Sabarimala temple row.

The state government has clamped prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code banning assembly of four or more people in Sabarimala and surrounding areas in view of protests by devotees over the government's decision to implement the Supreme Court verdict allowing entry of women of all ages into the hill shrine.

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New Delhi (PTI): The National Assessment and Accreditation Council has issued a show-cause notice to Al Falah University, which is under scanner following the Delhi blast, for displaying false certification on its website, officials said on Thursday.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is an autonomous government body that evaluates and certifies the quality of higher education institutions like colleges and universities.

In its show-cause notice, the NAAC said it has noted that the university, "which is neither accredited nor applied for accreditation by NAAC", has publicly displayed on its website that some of its colleges are NAAC-certified.

The notice quoted the website as reading, "Al Falah University is an endeavour of Al Falah Charitable Trust, which has been running three colleges on the campus, namely Al Falah School of Engineering and Technology (since 1997, Graded A by NAAC), Brown Hill College of Engineering and Technology (since 2008), and Al Falah School of Education and Training (since 2006, Graded A by NAAC)."

"This is absolutely wrong and misleading the public, especially the parents, students and stakeholders," the NAAC notice said.

The accreditation body has sought an explanation from the university and directed it to remove the portions on its website and other publicly available documents that claim false NAAC certification.

The accreditation for Al Falah School of Engineering and Technology expired in 2018, while that of Al Falah School of Education and Training expired in 2016, the notice said.

"The accreditation status of both the colleges has expired. Both the colleges have not yet volunteered for fresh Assessment and Accreditation process of the NAAC," the notice said.

According to its website, Al Falah University was established by the Haryana Legislative Assembly under the Haryana Private Universities Act.

It started as an engineering college in 1997. In 2013, the Al Falah Engineering College received A-category NAAC accreditation. In 2014, the Haryana government granted it university status. The Al Falah Medical College is also affiliated with the university.

According to several observers, in its early years, the Al Falah University presented itself as an excellent alternative to Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia for minority students pursuing quality education.

On Monday, a high-intensity blast ripped through a car near Red Fort in Delhi, killing 13 people and injuring several others, hours after the busting of a "white collar terror module" and the arrest of eight people, including three doctors. The arrested doctors were linked to the Al Falah University.