High Court Raises Doubts in Sabarimala Gold Theft Case Due to Missing Records
Kochi: The High Court strongly criticized the state government in the Sabarimala gold theft case while considering the bail plea of former Travancore Devaswom Board Commissioner N. Vasu.
The court pointed out that neither the Travancore Devaswom Board nor the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was able to produce documents to prove that the wooden platform (kattilappalli) of the sanctum sanctorum had been gold-plated in 1998. Due to the lack of such records, the court questioned the government’s actions in the case.
The government submitted only the statement of Pankaj Bhandari of Smart Creations, claiming that gold was removed from the wooden platform. The court asked whether there was any evidence other than this statement and questioned how the case could continue without proper documentary proof.
N. Vasu, who was the Devaswom Board Commissioner at the time, is in jail on charges that the gold-plated wooden platform was converted into copper and then handed over to Unnikrishnan Potti for gold plating. Vasu’s lawyer argued that there is no mention in Devaswom records that the platform had been gold-plated earlier, and that the case lacks supporting evidence.
Although the FIR mentioned only the wooden platform, the government later claimed that other items such as the idol form, arch, yali figure, zodiac plate, and Dashavatara were also involved. However, the High Court noted that this report was not submitted before the Magistrate Court or the Vigilance Court, and that, as per the FIR, the wooden platform remains the main issue.
At the time of the alleged gold theft in 2019, N. Vasu was the Devaswom Board Commissioner. He was named as the third accused after it was confirmed that he issued instructions on March 19, 2019, to record that the gold layers on the platform were actually copper. Vasu stepped down from the commissioner post on March 31 and later became the Devaswom Board President after A. Padmakumar.
During Vasu’s tenure as president, a controversial email from Unnikrishnan Potti was received after the gold plating work was completed. In the email, Potti stated that some gold was still left and asked whether it could be used for a girl’s wedding. The court found Vasu’s explanation on this matter unsatisfactory. Vasu stated that he had forwarded the email to others but did not follow up on the issue further.