Sabarimala gold-plating row: Unnikrishnan Potty appears before Kerala Devaswom Vigilance Board for questioning

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 5 (ANI): Unnikrishnan Potty, who is under investigation for the alleged irregularities in the gold plating of the Dwarapalaka idols at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple in Kerala, appeared before the Devaswom Board Vigilance for questioning on Sunday.
This is the second consecutive day he has appeared before the investigators. Yesterday, the Devaswom Vigilance team interrogated him for four hours.
The investigators reportedly asked him about the money he collected from others as a sponsorship for gold plating the Dwarapalaka idols. According to the officials, he took out the Dwarapalaka idols for gold plating in 2019.
Unnikrishnan Potty had alleged on live television that the plaques he had gifted to the temple as an offering in 2019 were missing.
The allegation prompted the Kerala High Court to order an investigation by the Vigilance wing of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). Subsequently, the unit recovered the artefacts from Potty's sister's house in Thiruvananthapuram in September.
There are also allegations surrounding the more than 30 kg of gold donated to the temple by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998. The TDB Vigilance has reported that key records related to Mallya's donations had gone missing from the Sabarimala Executive Office.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Kerala Assembly Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan strongly condemned the alleged irregularities in the gold-plating of Sabarimala idols and demanded action against those who are involved.
The leader of the Opposition called it a "robbery of Swami Ayyappa's gold" and said that if action is not taken, they would start agitation. Satheesan held the former and current Devaswom Board Presidents, along with the former and present Devaswom Ministers, responsible for the controversy.
On Thursday, the state Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan said a detailed probe was underway under the supervision of the High Court.
"The pedestal was recovered from the residence of Unnikrishnan Potty, who himself raised the complaint, which reveals who the culprit is. More facts will emerge as the investigation progresses," the minister said.
In response to opposition charges of negligence by the state government and the Travancore Devaswom Board, the minister stated that the allegations were aimed at diverting attention. "When the very item in question was found in the complainant's house, the facts became evident," Vasavan added, while confirming that Unnikrishnan Potty's influence was under scrutiny. (ANI)