Kerala HC orders SIT probe into alleged theft of Sabarimala gold

Kochi (Kerala) [India], October 6 (ANI): The Kerala High Court on Monday ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged theft of gold from Sabarimala temple, while also directing that the investigation be confidential and no information be leaked.
The investigation will be led by former Superintendent of Police S Sasidharan, and overseen by Crime branch chief Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) H Venkatesh. The team will consist of three inspectors, including cyber experts.
The High Court Devaswom Bench has directed the special investigation team to keep the investigation strictly confidential and not to leak any information.
The court's order pertains from 2019, when the gold lined copper plates were taken down by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). The issue intensified when Unnikrishnan Potti claimed that two gold-plated panels donated to the temple in 2019 were missing from the strongroom, just ahead of the TDB-sponsored Global Ayyappa Sangamam event. Recently, the IDB vigilance had recovered the "missing" items, but it was alleged that around 5 kg of weight was lost from the plates.
Meanwhile, Kerala Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan said that TDB vigilance will submit its preliminary report to the High Court on October 8.
"Today, the opposition staged a big, futile effort to create a controversy. Based on the High Court's directive, the Devaswom Vigilance is conducting an investigation. The preliminary report will be submitted to the court tomorrow (October 6)", the minister said in a press conference here.
Earlier on October 5, the TDB vigilance recorded the statement of Unnikrishnan Potty, a former helper and the sponsor of gold-plating works at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple.
Unnikrishnan Potty was questioned for nearly three hours at the TDB Vigilance headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. After the session, he left the premises without responding clearly to the media's questions.
When pressed, Potty remarked, "Don't I have freedom as an individual? Everything will be proven before the High Court. Don't I have the right to move freely? The truth will prevail."
The inquiry stems from allegations that several gold-plated panels removed from the temple in 2019 and 2025 for restoration at workshops in Hyderabad and Chennai were mishandled, with discrepancies reported in their weight and gold content.
The controversy reignited after the Kerala High Court ordered the immediate return of the gold-plated panels taken for repairs and criticised the TDB for violating procedural norms by not informing the court-appointed Sabarimala Special Commissioner.
Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have announced state-wide agitations from today and had been demanding a High Court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged irregularities. (ANI)