The Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) Vigilance department has reportedly taken a statement from Unnikrishnan Potti, a former helper at the revered Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. Potti finds himself embroiled in a significant controversy involving the alleged “misappropriation and manipulation” of gold-plated copper foil that adorns the temple’s intricate stone carvings and sculptures.
A senior TDB official, speaking to a prominent newspaper in Kottayam, confirmed that Potti was summoned to the board’s headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram late Saturday for questioning, though further details were unavailable.
This isn’t Potti’s first encounter with the TDB Vigilance. He was previously questioned about the removal of these very gold plates, supposedly for restoration work at workshops located in Hyderabad and Chennai, in both 2019 and 2025.
Sources indicate that the government is seeking legal advice regarding a potential police investigation, with the Crime Branch being a likely candidate to take over the case. Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan and TDB President P.S. Prasanth have both hinted that the board’s legal counsel will petition the High Court for authorization to initiate a full criminal inquiry.
Police sources clarified that the TDB Vigilance unit, while instrumental in uncovering internal irregularities, does not possess the legal power to make arrests or seize property. Its primary function is limited to internal audits and reporting corruption or malpractices within the TDB to the government for appropriate follow-up action.
Therefore, it is anticipated that the government will either opt for a Crime Branch investigation or establish a special investigation team, both requiring the High Court’s approval.
One official highlighted that existing laws permit State law enforcement agencies to conduct investigations beyond their typical territorial boundaries, provided they adhere to established procedures, including obtaining sanction from local magistrates for arrests or seizures.
This isn’t the first time concerns have been raised. Back in 2019, both the TDB Vigilance and the High Court observed a troubling discrepancy in the weight of the gold panels that were returned to the temple after alleged refurbishment. Despite these “red flags” from its own Vigilance department, the TDB paradoxically rehired Mr. Potti in 2025 for further repairs on the gold-plated panels.
The current controversy intensified when the High Court mandated the immediate return of the panels that had been removed for repair. The court also sharply criticized the TDB for failing to adhere to the Devaswom manual and for deliberately withholding information from the court-appointed Sabarimala Special Commissioner.
The scandal deepened when Potti himself alleged that two gold-plated panels, donated to the temple in 2019, had vanished from the strong room just before the TDB-sponsored Global Ayyappa Sangamam.
In a critical development, the TDB Vigilance unit successfully recovered these “missing objects” from Potti’s residence in Thiruvananthapuram last week. This recovery has fueled a growing and insistent demand from both opposition political parties and Ayyappa devotees for a thorough criminal investigation.
In response, both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have declared plans for street protests next week, each pushing their respective demands for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry, to be overseen by the High Court.