Key Points

Speaking to reporters here, Prashanth said that the TDB would discuss in detail the measures to be taken against retired officials involved in the gold-plating controversy, and informed that the pension benefits can be withheld only if the court convicts them.

"The board will discuss the action against Assistant Engineer K Sunil Kumar. Measures against retired officials will be decided after detailed discussions. Pension benefits can be withheld only if the court convicts them. The missing documents in Smart Creations will be investigated. The truth will come out, and the guilty will be punished. There is no dispute about that," TDB president Prashanth said.

He further stated that the deals made during the United Democratic Front (UDF) tenure must also be investigated since such an incident hasn't occurred for the first time.

"The gold theft will not affect the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage, and the board has no concerns. The deals that took place during the UDF tenure must also be investigated. Some leaders are trying to portray this as something happening for the first time in the Devaswom Board -- but such things have been happening for years. The probe should go back to 1999. Who were the board presidents in 2007, 2011, and 2016? Are they saints, and only the current ones sinners? Those making such claims must engage in self-reflection," Prashanth said.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday urged people not to speculate on and unnecessarily hurry regarding the Sabarimala gold theft probe, assuring that the investigation, progressing under the supervision of the High Court, will be done properly and that appropriate decisions will be taken after the report is submitted.

"Let the Special Investigation Team continue its work. The investigation is progressing under the supervision of the High Court. There is absolutely no need for any concern. The probe will be conducted properly, and further decisions will be taken once the investigation is completed. Why rush to pass judgments before the investigation is complete? Let the investigation proceed, and once the related report comes in, we can discuss the matter further", CM Vijayan told mediapersons.

The CM's comments were made amid the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the matter of the Sabarimala gold going missing from the panels of Dwarkapala idols. The Chief Minister stated that it would not be appropriate for him to make any statements on the investigation, which could affect it.

A SIT from Kerala arrived in Chennai earlier to continue its probe into alleged irregularities in the gold-plating restoration of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, focusing on Chennai-based firm Smart Creations.

According to sources, the SIT team from Kerala questioned the company's CEO, Pangej Bandari, at the firm's head office in Ambattur in connection with the missing gold reportedly linked to the temple's restoration work.

Bandari and other key officials of the firm were queried on the reported shortfall of approximately 4.54 kg of gold linked to the 2019 electroplating work on the idols' copper coverings, sources said. The missing gold has sparked a political row in Kerala, where the BJP is accusing the state government of corruption.

In 2019, during repairs, Devaswom records listed the removed panels as copper sheets. When the replated panels were returned, records showed a reduction of 4.41 kg. Unnikrishnan Potty testified that the sheets given to him were copper-based with residual gold, which had been later replated at a Chennai firm.

Meanwhile, the Travancore Devaswom Vigilance, in a detailed report submitted to the Kerala High Court, has exposed a web of serious procedural violations, unauthorised interventions, and suspicious financial dealings surrounding the gold plating of the Dwarapalaka idols and copper panels at the Sabarimala Sreekovil temple.

According to the report, Unnikrishnan Potti, who has no stable income or declared business background, acted as an intermediary in several renovation and offering-related works at Sabarimala, despite not being the actual sponsor for many of them.

The controversy pertains to alleged irregularities in the gold plating work at the Sabarimala temple, which involved 30.3 kilograms of gold and 1,900 kilograms of copper donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998 for cladding the sanctum sanctorum and wooden carvings of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala.

- ANI