SIT links TDB officials to Sabarimala gold theft

THe Special investigating team up ( sit around), probing the alleged theft of atomic number 79 assets at the Sabarimala temple, has uncovered grounds suggesting that Unnikrishnan Potty, the first accused, and officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which administers the temple, entered into a criminal conspiracy to transport the ‘dwarapalaka’ (guardian) idols to Chennai under the guise of gold re-plating in 2025 to conceal the alleged pilferage of gold committed in 2019.The key findings of the SIT investigation were placed before the Kerala high court in an interim status report on Monday, nearly 10 months after allegations of misappropriation of gold from the temple’s door frames and the guardian idols first surfaced.Another key development in the investigation is that the SIT has “collected overwhelming materials” against P S Prasanth, who served as TDB president between 2023 and 2025, in connection with the decision by Potty and the board to send the guardian idols to the Chennai-based firm Smart Creations for alleged re-plating last year.Prasanth, along with other accused — Kandararu Rajeevararu (chief priest), Pankaj Bhandari, proprietor of Smart Creations, Murari Babu, executive officer of Sabarimala, A Ajikumar, TDB member, and Rejilal, Thiruvabharanam commissioner — will be charged with offences including criminal breach of trust, forgery and criminal conspiracy, the SIT told the high court.A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K K Jayakumar permitted the SIT to register a fresh case or file further reports relating to the movement of the guardian idols to Chennai in 2025 under the guise of gold re-plating.False warranty certificate issuedIn its status report, the SIT said the gold-clad guardian idols were deliberately documented by TDB officials, in collusion with Potty, as copper plates to facilitate the alleged misappropriation of the original gold and its replacement with only a thin layer of gold plating.According to the report, at Smart Creations in Chennai, the original gold cladding was removed, a minimal quantity of gold was used for re-plating, and the remaining gold was allegedly pilfered.“Notwithstanding the inferior quality of the work carried out, a certificate was issued falsely certifying that the gold plating carried a warranty of forty years to ensure that no doubt is raised. Within a few months however, the gold plating deteriorated, exposing the underlying copper surface. The accused was alerted that if a fresh plating of gold is not made, the dubious acts committed in 2019 would be revealed,” the high court observed while referring to the SIT’s findings.‘Potty gained Prasanth’s confidence’The SIT said that soon after Prasanth assumed charge as TDB president in November 2023, Potty managed to gain his confidence and “induced him to exercise his authority” to execute the alleged conspiracy along with other board officials.The report said TDB members, entrusted with protecting temple assets, facilitated the transport of the guardian idols to Chennai in violation of the Devaswom Manual and specific directions issued by the high court.“The materials collected during the investigation further disclose that the officers and members of the Board were fully aware, from the communications exchanged with Unnikrishnan Potty, that he continued to remain in possession of the balance quantity of gold retained after removing the original gold cladding in the year 2019 and carrying out the subsequent replating,” the high court order said.The court directed the SIT to carry the investigation to its logical conclusion and ensure that “no stone is left unturned” in bringing out the complete truth. The matter has been posted for hearing on July 20.