6 months ago
2
The Kerala High Court-appointed peculiar probe squad (SIT) probing the “misappropriation” of gold-plated copper moulds covering the chromatic carvings and sculptures astatine the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple has detained a Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) authoritative for questioning.
According to officials, a plainclothes SIT squad detained Murari Babu astatine his location successful Perunna, Kottayam, precocious Wednesday night. They said SIT officials were questioning him astatine the Kerala Police Crime Branch bureau astatine Enchakkal, Thiruvananthapuram.
Earlier, the SIT had arraigned Mr Babu arsenic an accused successful the lawsuit based connected a TDB interior Vigilance report.
The interior audit helping had held Mr Murari liable for allegedly providing a mendacious study that the gilded overlays, earmarked for restoration successful 2019, contained nary golden and were made of axenic copper earlier handing them implicit to Unnikrishnan Potti, the premier suspect, for repair.
Missing plates
The politically tempestuous and religiously emotive lawsuit came to airy aft Mr Potti “revealed” successful the run-up to the TDB-sponsored Global Ayyappa Sanghamam successful September that 4 gold-plated panels helium donated to the temple successful 2019 were missing.
The TDB Vigilance, which probed the allegation, recovered the panels from the location of Mr Potti’s sister successful Thiruvananthapuram, prompting the High Court to bid an SIT probe into each TDB transactions involving Mr Potti.
The TDB Vigilance had besides told the High Court that the gilded panels weighed substantially little erstwhile they were returned to the temple aft restoration successful a metallic works portion successful Chennai. Mr Potti and his associates had taken possession of the coverings successful 2019, promising the committee that they would overhaul them for free.
The SIT lawsuit is that Mr Potti kept the gilded casings successful his custody for 39 days, raising suspicion that helium mightiness person replicated the moulds and sold the originals to a affluent collector for backstage worship.
It besides stumbled upon video grounds that Mr Potti had chartered retired the artefacts to affluent devotees, including movie stars, for backstage worship for sizeable backhanders.
Probe shifts
The SIT probe shifted absorption to Mr Murari aft the portion detained Mr Potti, who is present successful constabulary custody. The SIT claims that Mr Murari facilitated the fraud by misreporting the metallurgical creation of the gilded coverings earlier they were handed implicit to Mr Potti for repair.
The TDB had suspended Mr Babu from work pending an enquiry aft the ungraded broke. The Nair Service Society (NSS) has expelled Mr Babu from its superior membership. He was the NSS’ Perunna taluk national vice president for years.
The SIT is besides probing Mr Potti’s accomplices successful the crime. It has arraigned 9 serving and retired TDB officials arsenic accused successful the case.
Potti’s antecedents
The SIT probe is besides reportedly focussed connected ferreting retired however Mr Potti, who worked arsenic an adjunct to a lower-level clergyman astatine the Sabarimala temple during the 2004-2008 period, had gained traction with the temple orthodoxy and medication and became an wrong idiosyncratic bringing successful donations from affluent devotees and organising costly pujas and feasts.
The SIT probe besides centres connected the suspicion that Mr Potti mightiness person smelted the metallic casings for their golden oregon replicated the overlays and sold the originals to a affluent collector for archetypal worship.
The SIT has besides brought 2 erstwhile TDB presidents and Devaswom Commissioners, each governmental appointees, nether the ambit of its probe. The SIT is investigating them for imaginable complicity oregon transgression oversight.
