6 months ago
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The Kerala High Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) connected Wednesday (November 2, 2025) appeared poised to illustration an ancillary people of prosecution to unravel suspected high-level authoritative collusion and imaginable corruption successful the alleged misappropriation of gold-plated copper plates covering the chromatic carvings and sculptures astatine the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple successful 2019.
Officials stated that the High Court had broadened the scope of the probe to see imaginable violations of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The SIT’s probe into the anti-corruption space centres connected its uncovering that circumstantial TDB officials had “fraudulently” itemised the gilded panels arsenic made of copper portion handing them implicit to premier accused Unnikrishnan Potti, a erstwhile temple adjunct who aboriginal cultivated a web of affluent donors, for “restoration.”
Moreover, the SIT was probing whether the TDB’s determination to judge Mr. Potti’s connection to restore, escaped of cost, the panels donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya successful 1998 to their archetypal golden sheen revealed a premeditated intent to perpetrate the crime.
Notably, the SIT had listed astatine slightest 9 serving and retired TDB officials, including astatine slightest 2 governmental appointees, arsenic imaginable accused successful the case, without identifying astir of them by name.
However, the SIT questioned N. Vasu, erstwhile Devaswom Commissioner, recently. Officials said the interrogation reportedly centred connected an email petition from Mr. Potti successful 2019 to donate the “leftover gold” from the restoration enactment arsenic a matrimony acquisition for a pistillate hailing from an impoverished family.
The SIT was yet to apprehension Mr. Vasu oregon registry a abstracted First Information Report against him. In contrast, the SIT followed up connected the comparable questioning of Sabarimala Executive Officer D. Sudheesh Kumar and Administrative Officer Murari Babu, who had certified the gilded panels arsenic copper, by arresting them and obtaining judicial remand and protracted constabulary custody.
Other possibilities
In tribunal filings astatine a magistrate tribunal successful Ranni, Pathanamthitta, the SIT has not ruled retired the anticipation that the suspects had replicated the sheet successful cheaper alloy to merchantability the gold-plated originals to affluent collectors. It besides flagged the anticipation that the accused mightiness person smelt the panels for the gold.
The SIT has besides adduced arsenic grounds the TDB interior Vigilance’s study that flagged a important simplification successful the value of the gold-plated copper coverings, including a important simplification successful golden content, erstwhile Mr. Potti returned them to the temple aft “restoration.”
Meanwhile, an SIT plainclothes squad arrived successful Sabarimala. Their ngo was not instantly known. However, an authoritative said that the SIT whitethorn person sent a squad to hole the crushed for escorting the accused to the temple to stitchery further grounds and reconstruct the chronology of the crime.
