Sabarimala Gold Plating Scandal: TDB President Admits 2019 Lapses, Says Handing Over Gold Sheets to Unnikrishnan Potti Was a Grave Mistake
Pathanamthitta: Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P.S. Prasanth has broken his silence on the ongoing controversy surrounding the gold-plated copper sheets at the Sabarimala temple. He admitted that lapses occurred on the part of officials in 2019 and stated that the decision to hand over the gold-plated sheets to Unnikrishnan Potti should never have been made.
Prasanth said the Board had no prior understanding of who Unnikrishnan Potti was. “He himself initiated the discussion, and we were happy about that. But his attempt was to trap the Devaswom Board. Instead, he himself fell into the pit he dug,” Prasanth remarked. The TDB has now decided to approach the court, seeking a comprehensive investigation into the issue.
The 2019 Sponsorship
In 2019, under Potti’s sponsorship, gold plating was carried out on copper sheets in Chennai. He personally offered to take the sheets for repair. At the same time, pedestals for the temple’s Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols were also made and delivered to Sabarimala by a worker, Vasudevan from Anikkad, Kottayam. However, due to size discrepancies, these pedestals could not be installed.
Later, Potti claimed that the gold-plated pedestals he funded were missing from the temple. Following his allegations, the TDB initiated a thorough probe. Under the vigilance wing, both the Sannidhanam and Aranmula strong rooms were inspected for ten days. All items listed in the mahazar were intact—except for the missing pedestals. Suspicion then turned towards Potti. The vigilance team eventually recovered the missing items from the residence of Potti’s sister in Vattiyoorkavu, Thiruvananthapuram. Officials suspect foul play behind the allegations.
A Questionable Track Record
According to sources, Potti first entered the Sabarimala temple circle years ago by offering assistance to priests. However, intelligence reports suggest that in Bengaluru he was known as a “blade moneylender,” charging exorbitant interest rates on small loans.
He allegedly projected himself as deeply connected with the Sabarimala temple, thereby exploiting wealthy Ayyappa devotees from Karnataka. Potti first reached Karnataka as a Shantikaran (ritual assistant) at the Sriramapuram Ayyappa temple in Koramangala, Bengaluru. Eight years ago, he entered Sabarimala as one of the seasonal assistants (parikarmis) to priests. From there, he is believed to have devised strategies to win the trust of affluent devotees from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
Rise as a “Sponsor”
With time, Potti positioned himself as a mediator for expensive offerings at Sabarimala, gaining recognition outside Kerala as a “sponsor.” Reports indicate that he collected funds from wealthy devotees, including the sponsorship for the gold-plating of the Dwarapalaka pedestals.
He also financed major offerings, such as an entire day’s annadanam (free meal service) at the temple—officially costing ₹6 lakh, but allegedly raising four to five times that amount from sponsors.
Potti also launched charitable projects, such as building homes for the poor with funds from devotees. Most recently, two houses were handed over to destitute families in Kayamkulam Kannambally, financed by two Bengaluru-based Ayyappa devotees. The key-handing ceremony was attended by MLA U. Pratibha and TDB member A. Ajikumar, with Potti also present on the stage.