Daijiworld Media Network – Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 1: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala temple gold theft case arrested Kumar, who served as the executive officer of the famed hill shrine in 2019. According to sources quoted by PTI, Kumar was taken into custody after hours of questioning at the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram.

The arrest comes amid mounting political uproar, with the Opposition staging a walkout from the Kerala Assembly on Saturday. “The Devaswom board minister is also responsible; he must resign. That is our demand, and we will continue our agitation inside and outside the Assembly,” said Leader of Opposition and Congress leader V D Satheesan.

Kumar is accused of misrepresenting temple assets by recording the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols as copper-plated instead of gold-plated in official documents. Earlier, the police had arrested Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused, and former administrative officer B Murari Babu in connection with the case.

Investigators allege that Kumar, who had long served at Sabarimala, knowingly documented the gold-plated idols as copper when they were handed over to Potty for renovation in 2019. This act allegedly enabled the removal of the gold plating.

Officials confirmed that Kumar will be produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. The SIT also questioned Vasudevan, a close aide of Potty, and later recovered the gold-clad pedestal of the Dwarapalaka idols from Potty’s relative’s house in Thiruvananthapuram.

The SIT is probing two cases — the disappearance of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and from the door frames of the sanctum sanctorum (Sreekovil). Both were reportedly sent to a Chennai-based private firm, Smart Creations, for electroplating in 2019 without proper authorization.

The issue came to light when Sabarimala Special Commissioner R Jayakrishnan reported to the Kerala High Court that gold-inlaid copper panels were removed from the temple without permission from either the court or the Devaswom Bench. He described the move as a violation of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) manual, which mandates such repairs to be carried out only within temple premises.

The High Court later revealed a shocking discrepancy — the gold-plated panels and pedestals weighed 38.25 kg upon return, nearly 4.5 kg less than their original weight of 42.80 kg, suggesting possible gold misappropriation. The panels were also falsely documented as copper sheets.

Potty, a Bengaluru-based businessman and former junior priest, had sponsored the renovation in both 2019 and 2024. The TDB Vigilance Wing further discovered two missing pedestals at Potty’s sister’s residence, deepening suspicion of his involvement in the theft of temple assets.