Sabarimala Gold Panels Sold for Crores in 2019; Devaswom Vigilance to Submit Report Today
Pathanamthitta: The Travancore Devaswom Vigilance is set to submit its final report on the Sabarimala gold panel controversy before the Kerala High Court on Today. Sources indicate that the report contains explosive findings, concluding that the gold panels from the Dwarapalaka (guardian) sculptures were replaced and sold in 2019, resulting in a large-scale misappropriation of gold worth several crores.
According to initial information, the Vigilance has concluded that the act was not merely a procedural lapse but a well-planned theft camouflaged as renovation work. The investigation found that 24-carat gold donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1999—used to plate the Dwarapalaka idols and portions of the sanctum wall—was fraudulently removed and replaced with copper sheets.
The report recommends that a criminal case be registered and that those involved, including Unnikrishnan Potti, the sponsor of the renovation, and several Devaswom officials, be named as accused. It suggests a deep-rooted conspiracy, pointing out that the panels were falsely recorded as copper in official documents to cover up the theft.
Vigilance sources say the stolen gold panels were handed over to individuals outside Kerala, allegedly in exchange for huge sums. Investigators note that the actual market value of the gold is not the main concern — these panels were priceless relics, part of the Sabarimala sanctum itself, and carried immense spiritual significance.
It is suspected that the stolen gold sheets were sold privately to collectors who value their ritual and religious importance. Reports indicate that Unnikrishnan Potti may have marketed them by claiming that the gold once covered the Sabarimala shrine, linking them to faith-based beliefs such as the removal of planetary doshas (malefic effects) and enhancement of prosperity.
Adding credibility to the Vigilance’s findings, Thattavila Mahesh Panicker, a member of the family of the traditional sculptors who crafted the Sabarimala idol, said the gold-plating work could have been done within the Sannidhanam itself if it were genuine. “Taking the panels outside means it was not renovation—it was removal,” he remarked.
Vigilance officers recently inspected the gold panels stored in the Sannidhanam locker room on October 17 and compared them with photographs from before 2019. The detailed forensic and visual analysis reportedly confirms that the original panels were replaced, with the new ones showing differences in structure and gold layering.
Further revelations from the Vigilance timeline shed light on the suspicious sequence of events:
July 20, 2019: 14 gold-plated panels were removed from the sanctum for “gold coating.”
These panels were allegedly taken to houses in Chennai and later to Hyderabad, where they were sold individually for large sums, taking advantage of their devotional value. The report notes that mass sale was unlikely — instead, the panels appear to have been sold piece by piece.
The panels reached Smart Creations in Chennai only 39 days after removal, with no clear records. The company’s CEO, Pankaj Bhandari, testified that the panels they received were entirely copper, showing no signs of age or previous gold plating — a statement that strongly supports the replacement theory.
Vigilance suspects that during those 39 days, new copper replicas were made using molds of the original panels, which were then plated with gold to match the previous appearance. Minor dimensional differences have also been detected between the old and new panels.
The Devaswom Board is also likely to file a complaint with the State Police Chief against Unnikrishnan Potti, naming him as the central figure behind the manipulation and sale of the gold panels.
Temple tradition dictates that no work inside the sanctum sanctorum can be carried out without the permission of the Tantri (chief priest). However, officials have remained silent on how such a massive operation was executed without the Tantri’s approval.
The Vigilance findings paint a picture of faith traded for fortune, where sacred relics of immense spiritual value were allegedly sold for profit under the guise of renovation. With the High Court set to review the report, the Sabarimala gold panel case could soon become one of the most serious temple-related corruption scandals in Kerala’s history.