7 months ago
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The High Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the ‘misappropriation’ of gold-plated copper coverings enveloping the chromatic carvings and sculptures astatine the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple appeared to grow rapidly to different States connected Sunday.
Officials said an SIT plainclothes squad is successful Chennai to interrogation the mill management, who Unnikrishnan Potti, the premier accused successful the case, had contracted to reconstruct the decades-old gilded temple panels to their archetypal sheen. They said the SIT mightiness probe Mr. Potti’s antecedents successful Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Notably, Mr. Potti made himself the people of the probe aft helium revealed successful September that 2 gold-copper coverings helium had ‘donated’ to the temple successful 2019 were ‘missing’.
Mr. Potti had worked successful the temple arsenic an adjunct to a Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB)-appointed clergyman successful the aboriginal 2010s and aboriginal gained employment astatine the Ayyappa temple astatine Jalahalli successful Bengaluru.
The startling ‘disclosure’ came successful the run-up to the TDB-sponsored Global Ayyappa Sangamam, wrong-footing the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) authorities and providing Opposition parties with ammunition to scandalise the organisers.
However, the contention took a crisp crook erstwhile the Vigilance recovered the panels from the location of Mr. Potti’s sister successful Thiruvananthapuram days later, and consequently, laid the crushed for the ongoing High Court-monitored SIT probe.
Motives questioned
In a caller study to the High Court, the TDB’s interior Vigilance raised cautionary reddish flags astir Mr. Potti’s motives for accepting the TDB’s restoration declaration and his ‘questionable insider relation successful the temple’s affairs’.
The portion alleged that Mr. Potti had gradually gained credibility wrong the temple orthodoxy by channelling important contributions from affluent Ayyappa devotees to marque sizeable offerings astatine the temple, including underwriting costly pujas and extended feasts, and ‘facilitating’ VIP darshans.
The SIT is reportedly poised to question 1 Kalpesh, who had received the gold-inlaid overlays from the temple connected Mr. Potti’s behest, for restoration.
Under probe ambit
The ‘discrepancy’ successful the value of the panels returned to the temple aft restoration, the anticipation of duplication of the artefacts portion successful Mr. Potti’s ‘protracted’ custody, the TDB’s ‘misleading’ grading of the gilded coverings arsenic made of axenic copper and the worship of the temple artefacts successful the homes of affluent devotees successful Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai were nether the SIT probe.
The SIT had brought astatine slightest 9 TDB officials, including 2 erstwhile presidents and Devaswom Commissioners, some of whom are governmental appointees of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, nether its rapidly evolving probe, which remains strictly nether wraps arsenic per the High Court’s order. The SIT has indicted the suspects for cheating, confidence, trickery, conspiracy and theft.
