Some Unaccounted Theft Shakes Worshipers.
Reference to The Tribune One of the most famous temple in south India is Sabarimala temple.
As the terrific reason of headline significant amount of gold crowning the guardain god has disappeared.
which makes the believers furious and leads to the political outburst in the state,
What is more shocking is that pilfered gold is a portion of a generous donation of 1999
by a fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya who donated approximately 30 kilograms of gold to the shrine.
What is even more shocking about this case, the stolen gold is among a donation of grand value in 1999
of a fugitive businessman by the name of Vijay Mallya, who donated approximately 30 kilograms of gold to the temple.
The Gold Plate Sabarimala Controversy.
The scandal broke out when people noticed the temple’s Dwarapalaka statues and their bases were mysteriously losing weight
when temple staff checked, they found gold covering on the statues was gone without any sign of damage or theft.
No one even noticed ? gold has stolen such strictly guarded temples followers and communist was confused.
How the Theft Came to Light
The myth goes back to 1999, when Vijay Mallya personally gave gold to cover the idols and pedestals of the Dwarapalakas in the temple, doing it right there on the temple premises under strict supervision.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) voted to have the gold plating re-done 20 years later in 2019. Unnikrishnan Potty financed the project and had the idols refurbished at Chennai.
Several years later, officials conducting an inventory of the temple discovered that the idols had lost approximately 4.5 kilograms of gold.The missing amount caused doubt about theft and carelessness and this led to full investigation.
Who has officials accused of stealing the gold?
The matter soon became political. Opposition parties lifted an accusation on the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government and temple authorities of plotting to steal.
The Congress Party said, “After vote chori, temple chori;” that crooked officials had polluted the sanctity of the shrine.
In the meantime, BJP leaders Suresh claimed that the LDF government and the Devaswom Board had ignored temple traditions and court orders. He urged that the temple administration be given to Ayyappa devotees, believing they would never allow such a theft to happen.
However, according to the left-leaning Kairali News, Unnikrishnan Potty himself might have stolen the gold plates.
What Has Been Happening in the Case.
The Kerala High Court had on October 6 ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigate the case which is led by ADGP H. Venkatesh. SIT consists of the IPS officer S. Sasidharan who would lead the inquiry under the supervision of the ADGP.
The court ordered the SIT to finish the investigation in six weeks, looking into the part that Unnikrishnan Potty and the main officials of the Devaswom Board took. The court also cautioned that the incident was a gross violation of trust and sanctity of religion.
What Revealed the Chief Vigilance Officer?
The Chief Vigilance and Security Officer presented crucial evidence before the Kerala High Court. It was an old letter from the finance manager of McDowell and Company Ltd, part of the United Breweries Group. Most of these letters were address to the Travancore Devaswom Board.
The letter stated that:
- There were two Dwarapalakas made out of 1.564 kg of gold.
- Gold-plating of the entire sanctum (Sreekovil) was done using traditional methods using 30.291 kg.
These records proved that the idols that Potty received in 2019 were gold-plated, and dismissed any assertion that they were made of copper.
The court pointed out the 4.5 kg loss upon the restoration of the idols and termed it as a subject of extreme gravity. According to it, the original gold-vested idols could have been changed or auctioned to make money.
What was more appalling was an email by Potty to the president of the Devaswom Board, requesting the board to allow him to use the gold left over to enable the marriage of a girl. The court referred to this as highly disturbing and how the conduct of the officials of the temple seemed to be in collusion with one that was a betrayal of the faith of the devotees and the sanctity of the temple.
Who is in Charge of the Sabarimala Temple?
The Sabarimala Temple is administered by a statutory organization called the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) which administers over 1,250 temples within the former Travancore state.
The Congress also, after the scandal, required the resignation of P.S. Prasanth, the President of TDB, and V.N. Vasavan, the Devaswom Minister of Kerala.
Violation of Evidence and Trust.
The stolen gold in the Sabarimala Temple is not merely a matter of material deprivation — it is a sign of a lack of trust in one of the most divine institutions in India. Millions of followers are waiting the outcome of the SIT probe; the Gold Theft Case, as it is now being termed, is a scandal that has rocked both the politics and religious faith in Kerala.
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