Just one day after taking statements from Smart Creation, the Chennai-based company responsible for electroplating the gold-layered copper coverings of the Dwarapalakas (guardian deity) idols at Sabarimala, the Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) Vigilance and Security Wing officially submitted its findings to the Kerala High Court on Friday, October 10, 2025.
The High Court has instructed that this Vigilance report be immediately handed over to the State Police Chief. The Police Chief is then expected to direct the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to formally register a case concerning the unexplained reduction in the weight of the precious gold-clad copper coverings.
This critical report will serve as a key document for the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was established earlier this week under the High Court’s directives. The SIT’s primary task is to investigate the alleged irregularities that have resulted in a significant loss—over 4.5 kg—of gold from these copper coverings since 2019. Leading this investigation is S. Sasidharan, an SP, operating under the overall supervision of Additional DGP H. Venkitesh.
Furthermore, the SIT’s mandate extends to examining potential irregularities in the original gold-cladding work on the idol frames. They will also look into the mysterious case of 474.90 grams of gold, which was removed from the copper coverings before the electroplating process and remains unaccounted for.
The decision to form this dedicated SIT was initially made by a High Court Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar, following an interim report from the TDB’s Vigilance wing highlighting the serious nature of these allegations.
At the heart of this investigation is the noticeable reduction in the weight of the idols, which occurred after they were sent to the Chennai-based firm for electroplating by Unnikrishnan Potti.