The Kerala High Court has directed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate a larger conspiracy behind the Sabarimala temple gold theft, implicating TDB officials and Unnikrishnan Potty in the disappearance of gold from Dwarapalaka idols.
The Kerala High Court directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to delve into the possibility of a larger conspiracy surrounding the gold theft from the Sabarimala Temple.
In an interim order, the High Court instructed the SIT to investigate whether any officials from the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) played a role in concealing the gold theft from the gold-plated plates.
The court also sought to determine if the transfer of the Dwarapalakas in 2025 was part of a strategy to cover up the 2019 theft.
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The order emphasized,
“The SIT shall examine every facet of the matter and ascertain the role and complicity, if any, of each officer of the TDB, from the highest echelons downwards. The higher officials of the Board cannot absolve themselves of responsibility or shift the blame onto subordinate officers, for each of them bore a collective duty to ensure that the sacred valuables of the deity was neither pilfered nor wasted.”
Moreover, the High Court raised significant concerns about whether the Dwarapalakas returned were the same ones initially entrusted. It noted a clear indication that TDB officials attempted to discreetly hand over the gold-covered Dwarapalakas to accused Unnikrishnan Potty in 2025, suggesting an effort to cover up the previous gold theft.
This was evidenced by their failure to seek permission from the Special Commissioner, which was mandated by a court order.
On Tuesday, the head of the SIT presented its initial report in a sealed cover to a bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar during in-camera proceedings. The High Court had previously assigned the case to the SIT and required the team to submit a progress report within two weeks, with a six-week deadline for completing the investigation.
The preliminary investigation report indicates that a conspiracy likely underpinned the gold theft. It revealed that only a superficial mahazar was prepared, with key details missing from the registers.
The High Court remarked,
“The Devaswom officials, despite being fully aware of the glaring irregularities and the possibility that the gold plates had been substituted, wilfully chose to remain silent, thereby concealing the act of misconduct on the part of both the officials and the sponsor.”
The SIT has opened two separate FIRs and named 10 individuals as accused, with Unnikrishnan Potty listed as the primary suspect.
According to the investigation’s progress report submitted to the High Court, the theft was carefully orchestrated based on calculations related to the gold offerings, which included the Dwarapalaka sculptures provided by Vijay Mallya in 1998.
The Kerala High Court noted that the gold-covered plates of the Dwarapalaka idols weighed 42.8 kg when given to Potty for electroplating, but the weight dropped to 38.2 kg upon their return to the temple.
The accused reportedly theorized that substituting the gold with painted replicas would evade detection. The SIT has informed the court that Potty has been arrested and remanded into their custody until October 30, subsequently being transferred to the Pathanamthitta police camp.
The case is scheduled for a hearing on November 11.
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The alleged reduction in the weight of gold was revealed during the Court’s intervention, which was prompted by a suo motu petition based on a report from the Special Commissioner indicating that the gold-clad copper covering of the Dwarapalaka idols and the Peedam on which they were mounted was removed without prior notification.
Following this, a vigilance report highlighted shortcomings by Devaswom officials concerning the gold loss, leading the court to instruct the SIT to file a criminal case and commence an investigation.
Case Title: Suo Motu vs State of Kerala and Ors