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Kerala HC orders setting up of SIT to probe Sabarimala gold plate row
It is learnt that the Devaswom (Vigilance) wing has submitted a preliminary report in the high court in which it has pointed to prima-facie evidence of misappropriation of gold from the ‘dwarapalaka’ gold-clad sheets over the past several years with collusion of local Devaswom officials
Kochi: To uncover the alleged discrepancies in the weight and value of the gold-clad plates covering the ‘dwarapalaka’ idols at the Sabarimala temple, the Kerala high court on Monday ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the leadership of ADGP H Venkatesh.
The order by the division bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar came in the suo motu case taken up based on the finding that the purported gold-clad copper sheets enveloping the ‘dwarapalaka’ idols were handed out by the Devaswom authorities to a priest-turned-businessman recently for repairs in Chennai without the permission of either the Special Commissioner (Sabarimala) or the high court.
It was also found in the report submitted by the Special Commissioner last month that the gold-clad sheets, sent for similar repairs in 2019, had shrunk in weight by approximately 4.5kg when they were returned to the Devaswom authorities after the repairs. Incidentally, the man who had purportedly volunteered to fund the repairs of the sheets and had taken them to Chennai for repairs both in 2019 and this year was Unnikrishnan Potty, the Bengaluru-based businessman currently at the centre of the row.
“We are of the view that a special team of officers of the highest integrity is required to probe this matter. H Venkatesh IPS, ADGP (law and order) in the Kerala Police can be appointed as head of the SIT to investigate all aspects of the matter,” the HC said.
The inquiry itself is expected to be led by IPS officer S Sasidharan, currently assistant director (administration), and the team consisting of inspectors and assistant inspectors from the state police.
The HC directed the SIT not to interact with the press during the course of inquiry and to submit its report within a month.
It is learnt that the Devaswom (Vigilance) wing has submitted a preliminary report in the high court in which it has pointed to prima-facie evidence of misappropriation of gold from the ‘dwarapalaka’ gold-clad sheets over the past several years with collusion of local Devaswom officials.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Sabarimala temple, is an autonomous body and gets grants and funds from the state to run around 1200 temples in Kerala. Devaswom minister VN Vasavan welcomed the high court’s directions and said that no guilty person should go scot-free.
“We have full faith in the high court. A comprehensive investigation will take place and the truth will come out in due course,” said Vasavan.
Opposition UDF MLAs in the Assembly raised slogans and hurled a giant banner in front of the Speaker’s chair, limiting his vision, as they demanded the resignation of the Devaswom minister.
Leader of the opposition VD Satheesan alleged that the state government and the TDB continued to hide the ‘misappropriation’ of gold from the gold-clad sheets despite having evidence of it in 2019 and 2022.“If Potty was the only accused, then why wasn’t criminal action taken against him based on the mahazar reports of the gold-clad sheets in 2019 and 2022? This proves that those in the state government and the Devaswom board are accomplices to the theft of gold,” he alleged.
The Assembly proceedings had to be adjourned due to the Opposition’s stormy protests.
