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Police in South India launch criminal investigation after suspected theft of gold from reverend Sabarimala templeone of the following Most popular pilgrimage destination in the countryCaused a scandal.
Temple, Dedicated to the Hindu god Ayyappa, Attracts lakhs of devotees every year. It is managed by the Travancore Devaswom Board, a government body that oversees about 1,200 temples across the state of Kerala.
The scam came to public notice after the Kerala High Court ordered a special investigation team to probe why about 475 grams of the temple’s gold was not returned after a renovation project in 2019.
The project, sponsored by priest-turned-businessman Unnikrishnan Potty, involved refurbishing the gilded copper plates of the idols as well as the door frames of the sanctum sanctorum at a firm based in Chennai city in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu.
According to court documents, the Travancore Devaswom Board inexplicably recorded these valuable items as “copper plates”, even though they were plated with gold.
Investigators suspect that the gold lining was removed and misused. The High Court found that Smart Creations, the company selected for the work, lacked the technology for gold-plate pre-clad items and questioned why it was selected.
Investigators arrested Mr Potti on Friday after questioning him in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.
He is accused of theft, criminal breach of trust and conspiracy along with former president A Padmakumar, two board members and nine officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board.
The investigation, which the court says should be completed within six weeks, also includes allegations of gold missing from the temple and other parts of it. Srikovil Or the doorframe of the inner sacred door.
The origins of the scam lie in the donation of over 30 kg of gold and 1,900 kg of copper by disgraced industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998 to decorate parts of the temple complex. A later court review revealed that the weight of the gold-plated items had been significantly reduced, indicating theft on a large scale.
In the wake of the latest allegations, the vigilance wing of the Devaswom board identified lapses of nine officials and initiated disciplinary action against one.
“It is clear that the present board has nothing to do with this issue,” said board president PS Prashant. “Then why are we being accused?”
He said the controversy should not be allowed to derail preparations for the annual pilgrimage season, in which around 60 lakh devotees are expected to visit the temple.
Kerala Temple Minister VN Vasavan called the incident “nothing less than theft” and vowed to hold the culprits accountable.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan insisted that the government would “never protect any wrongdoers”.
The opposition demanded an investigation by federal agency CBI. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal accused the government of “trying to hide the incident”, while Leader of Opposition in the Assembly VD Satheesan alleged large-scale corruption and demanded the resignation of ministers.
The ruling Marxist Communist Party is trying to limit reputational damage as Mr Padmakumar is a senior member of the party. Mr Padmakumar said: “An attempt is being made to put the entire blame on me. There are other people who are accountable.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party accused the state government of “robbery in broad daylight”.
“The High Court has no confidence in the Devaswom board or the government. Why is the Devaswom minister still clinging to his chair?”. Union Minister V Muraleedharan said, referring to Mr Vasavan.
Sabarimala chief priest Kandararu Rajeevaru welcomed the court’s intervention, calling the scandal “very painful for the devotees”.
The High Court has ordered that the investigation be conducted confidentially and the progress report be presented in a sealed manner.
The scam comes at a time when gold prices in India are at record-high levels – around ₹128,000 (£1,082) per 10 grams – and smuggling has surged amid demand ahead of Diwali.
Smuggling in India, the world’s second-largest gold consumer, has increased in recent weeks due to supply shortages and high profit margins for gray market traders, officials confirmed.