‘Board takes full responsibility for gold plates taken for gilding’: Devaswom Board president on Sabarimala gold theft case

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth has assured full cooperation in the alleged Sabarimala gold theft probe, asserting that the board has acted with “complete honesty” and “transparency.”

The Devaswom Board president emphasised that the Board takes “full responsibility for the gold plates taken for gilding”, noting that all required procedures and standards were followed.

“The Travancore Devaswom Board has carried out its responsibilities honestly and transparently. This time, the Board takes full responsibility for the gold plates taken for gilding. All required procedures and standards were followed before taking the gold plates this time,” Prasanth said on Sunday.

The TDB president called for a full investigation from 1998 onwards, and stated that action would be taken against “guilty officials”, including pension freezes for retirees if necessary.

“The probe should cover everything from 1998 onwards, which is why a new investigation team has been formed. The sponsor was changed based on certain information that came to light. There is no reason to doubt the current Devaswom Board. All the missing gold must be recovered; that is our demand”, Prasanth said.

“If I am the one who has done wrong, let me be punished. Neither the minister nor the Board has supported taking even a single grain of gold belonging to the Lord. We are confident in that”, he further added.

Clarifying his role in the transfer of the gold plates, Prasanth said, “It was my instruction not to hand over the gold plates to Unnikrishnan Potty. I had questioned how it could be handed over to him. He had said it was given to him last time as well, but I made it clear that I would not allow officers to be influenced”.

Prasanth assured that the special investigation team is “free to conduct the probe”. “If they believe I am guilty, let them make me an accused. Action will be taken against any officials found guilty. As for those who have retired, action will be considered after examination, including freezing of pensions if found guilty. A decision on these matters will be taken in the Devaswom Board meeting on the 14th,” he said.

He also mentioned that Murari Babu is not the only accused, adding that two others currently in service are also on the list of accused in the case.

On October 7, the Travancore Devaswom Board suspended B Murari Babu, Deputy Devaswom Commissioner, Haripad, in connection with an alleged false report related to the Sabarimala gold plating project.

On October 6, the Kerala High Court ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged theft of gold from Sabarimala temple, while also directing that the investigation be confidential and no information be leaked.

The Dwarapalaka idols at the Sabarimala temple had gold-plated plates, originally installed in 1999, with the intention of keeping them there for the next 40 years. However, defects were seen in the plates after just a few years. In 2019, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) removed the plates for repairing.

Historical records indicate that the 1998 gold cladding, completed in 1999, was undertaken under the leadership of Chennai-based jeweller Nagarajan of JNR Jewellery, with the expertise of 53 artisans from Tamil Nadu. The process involved layering gold beaten into thin foils and bonding them onto copper plates with mercury.

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. (ANI)