Devaswom Staff Admit Gold Panels Were Misrecorded as Copper; Mystery Continues
Thiruvananthapuram: In a major development in the Sabarimala gold plating controversy, Devaswom officials have reportedly admitted before the Vigilance that the Dwara Palaka (door guardian) sculptures at the temple were indeed gold-plated. The officials, who were in service during 2019, described the mention of “copper sheets” in official records as an “unintentional error.”
According to their statements, the copper plates used in the temple’s inner structures were coated with a thin layer of gold. They claimed this was the reason the 2019 Devaswom order recorded them as copper sheets. The officials, including the then Executive Officer, told Vigilance that the material handed over to Unnikrishnan Potti was the same gold-coated copper plate originally gifted to Sabarimala in 1999 by businessman Vijay Mallya.
However, Devaswom Vigilance has not yet accepted this explanation and intends to verify the statements through a detailed probe before drawing conclusions.
Meanwhile, sources indicate that Unnikrishnan Potti is unlikely to receive a clean chit in the case. The investigation team has reportedly found discrepancies in the accounts of both Potti and the Devaswom officials. Potti had earlier claimed that he received only copper sheets from the temple for repair, but the Vigilance now believes this statement to be false. Evidence suggests that the items handed over to him were in fact gold-plated copper sheets.
Investigators are also examining what exactly happened to the original gold-coated panels and whether the ones returned to the temple were genuine. The Vigilance has expressed doubt over the credibility of the Devaswom officials’ justification for recording the items as copper in 2019.
The final investigation report highlighting these findings is expected to be submitted to the Kerala High Court later this week.