Sabarimala Gold Plating Row Deepens: 2019 Board Order Reveals “Copper Sheets” in Dwarapalaka Sculpture
Thiruvananthapuram: The ongoing controversy over the gold plating at Sabarimala has taken a new turn, with a 2019 Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) order—as per media reports—raising fresh questions.
The order, issued on July 5, 2019, sanctioned repair works on the copper sheets covering the Dwarapalaka sculptures at Sabarimala, with instructions to re-plate them with gold. This is in contrast to records from 1999, which state that the sculptures were originally gold-plated.
The 2019 directive entrusted the repair and gold plating work to Unnikrishnan Potti, a devotee from Bengaluru, who had applied through the Sabarimala Executive Officer. The order notes that the tantri’s opinion was also considered before granting permission. However, it repeatedly refers to the covering sheets as “copper,” raising the puzzling question of how the gold-plated layers from 1999 had turned into copper by 2019.
With the controversy mounting, both the TDB and the Kerala government have now placed the sponsor, Unnikrishnan Potti, under the scanner. The Devaswom Vigilance has been tasked with a detailed probe into his transactions, including financial aspects, and is preparing to question him extensively. Officials have also indicated that they will examine whether fraud was committed in the name of Sabarimala for personal gain.
“The sponsor’s transactions will be thoroughly investigated, including his past involvement. If necessary, we will seek a comprehensive probe under the High Court’s supervision,” TDB president P.S. Prasanth said earlier.
As vigilance investigators widen the scope, the central mystery remains: how did the gold plating recorded in 1999 come to be described as copper in official documents two decades later?