7 months ago
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The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) Vigilance has reportedly recorded the connection of Unnikrishnan Potti, a erstwhile helper astatine the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, who is astatine the centre of a contention concerning the alleged “misappropriation and manipulation” of gold-plated copper foil covering the temple’s chromatic carvings and sculptures.
A elder TDB authoritative told The Hindu successful Kottayam that the helping had summoned Mr. Potti to the board’s office successful Thiruvananthapuram precocious Saturday. However, helium lacked much information.
The TDB Vigilance had earlier questioned Mr. Potti concerning the removal of the golden plates ostensibly for restoration successful workshops successful Hyderabad and Chennai successful 2019 and 2025.
According to officials, the authorities has reportedly sought ineligible sentiment for a constabulary investigation, perchance by the Crime Branch. Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan and TDB president P.S. Prasanth had signalled that the board’s lasting counsel successful the High Court volition question the court’s support for a transgression inquiry.
According to constabulary sources, the TDB Vigilance helping lacks the ineligible authorization to marque arrests oregon seizures. Its relation is confined chiefly to interior auditing and reporting malpractices and corruption successful the TDB to the authorities for further action.
They accidental the authorities volition apt measurement a Crime Branch enquiry oregon signifier a peculiar probe squad with the High Court’s sanction.
An authoritative pointed retired that the instrumentality empowered the State instrumentality enforcement to prosecute investigations extracurricular their territorial jurisdiction, arsenic per established procedure, including the authorisation of the section magistrate to marque arrests oregon seizures.
In 2019, the TDB Vigilance and subsequently the High Court had noted a disturbing discrepancy successful the value of the golden panels returned to the temple aft expected refurbishment. Despite the cautionary reddish flags by the Vigilance wing, the TDB contracted Mr. Potti for gold-plated sheet repairs successful 2025.
The contiguous contention erupted aft the High Court ordered the contiguous instrumentality of the panels taken retired of the temple for repair and censured the TDB for violating the Devaswom manual and keeping the court-appointed Sabarimala Special Commissioner successful the dark.
It gained further momentum with Mr Potti claiming that 2 gold-plated panels donated to the temple successful 2019 were missing from the beardown country successful the run-up to the TDB-sponsored Global Ayyappa Sangamam.
The TDB Vigilance helping recovered the “missing objects” from Mr. Potti’s location successful Thiruvananthapuram past week, triggering an progressively strident request from Opposition parties and Ayyappa devotees for a transgression inquiry.
Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party person announced thoroughfare agitations adjacent week to property their autarkic demands for a High Court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry.
