SIT’s big revelation in Sabarimala scandal: Gold missing from more temple artefacts

According to the application, gold was separated using a chemical mixture at a firm in Chennai, and is currently in the possession of Bellary-based jeweller Govardhan Roddam.

The SIT has sought one-day custody of three accused — Unnikrishnan Potty, the sponsor who had promised to gold-plate items from the temple; Govardhan Roddam; and Pankaj Bhandari of Smart Creations, the firm in Chennai where the gold was separated from the artefacts. They are among the 10 people who have been arrested in connection with the matter.

The SIT also said in the application that it has sought the technical assistance of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram to ascertain the exact quantity of gold-plating material on various artefacts at the temple. VSSC scientists will collect samples from the gold-covered copper plates, said the application.

The 10 people arrested in the case so far include three leaders of Kerala’s ruling CPI(M), including former party legislator A Padmakumar. Last week, the SIT questioned former minister Kadakampally Surendran, who served as the minister for Devaswom — temple affairs — in 2019, when the alleged theft took place.

The issue came into the spotlight in October, after the Kerala High Court ordered an extensive probe into alleged malpractices involving valuables and gold at Sabarimala.

The court appointed former judge K T Sankaran to prepare an inventory of temple valuables and directed the temple vigilance officer to investigate all malpractices.

The latest revelations are expected to put more heat on the ruling CPI(M). The scandal had been widely debated in the recent local body elections, in which the CPI(M) suffered extensive setbacks. The CPI(M) has hit back at the Opposition Congress, referring to a meeting that the accused Potty had with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in Delhi.