A Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed by the Kerala High Court, has reportedly identified 11 key suspects in the high-profile case involving the alleged misappropriation of gold-plated copper panels at the revered Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. These intricate coverings adorn the temple’s sacred stone carvings and sculptures.
Unnikrishnan Potti, who received a contract from the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) in 2019 to restore the deteriorating gilded panels, has been named by the SIT as the primary suspect in this politically charged scandal.
The ongoing investigation, which the High Court has ordered to be kept confidential, also implicates at least nine TDB officials. Among them are two former presidents and several Devasom Commissioners, all political appointees of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
The charges against these individuals include cheating, engaging in confidence trickery, conspiracy, and the theft of sacred temple property.
Concerns Over Weight Discrepancies and Artifact Duplication
The SIT’s investigation delves into several alarming aspects: the significant weight discrepancies found in the panels returned after restoration, the potential for duplication of these artifacts during Mr. Potti’s extended custodianship, the TDB’s inaccurate classification of the gilded coverings as pure copper, and even reports of these sacred temple items being worshipped in the private residences of affluent devotees across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai.
Intriguingly, Mr. Potti himself drew the attention of the investigators when he sensationally claimed in September that two gold-copper coverings he had ‘donated’ to the temple in 2019 had gone missing.
This shocking revelation emerged just before the TDB-organized Global Ayyappa Sangamam, catching the ruling LDF government off guard and arming opposition parties with significant material to criticize the event’s organizers.
The controversy intensified rapidly when the vigilance department swiftly recovered the ‘missing’ panels from Mr. Potti’s sister’s home in Thiruvananthapuram just days later, setting the stage for the current High Court-supervised SIT investigation.
Vigilance Department Raises Alarms
In a recent report submitted to the High Court, the TDB’s internal vigilance unit expressed serious concerns regarding Mr. Potti’s motivations for undertaking the restoration contract and his potentially compromising influence within temple operations.
The vigilance unit further alleged that Mr. Potti had steadily built his standing within the temple’s traditional circles. He purportedly did this by funneling significant donations from affluent Ayyappa devotees for grand temple offerings, covering the costs of elaborate rituals (poojas) and lavish feasts, and even ‘arranging’ special VIP darshans (sightings).
It was also brought to light that Mr. Potti had served as an assistant to a priest at the temple in the early 2010s. He allegedly leveraged this experience to secure profitable positions at other Ayyappa temples, such as the one in Jalahalli, near Bengaluru.
The SIT is reportedly preparing to summon all accused individuals to its camp office in Pathanamthitta for intensive questioning. Additionally, a plainclothes SIT team is currently in Chennai to interrogate the management of the workshop Mr. Potti engaged for the restoration project.