While the Congress never questioned its authenticity, Prakash clarified that he wasn’t summoned for questioning, so far. He alleged the news of questioning was orchestrated by the Chief Minister’s Office and his political secretary, a charge refuted by the CMO through an official statement.
This comes a day after the SIT questioned senior CPI(M) leader and former Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran. Former TDB president and CPI(M) member P.S. Prasanth also faced SIT grilling.
On Thursday, Congress general secretary and Alappuzha MP K.C.Venugopal alleged that there was a huge pressure on the SIT officials.
“Even if the SIT is constituted by a High Court order, the officials are Kerala government officials. The public is watching. If prominent figures are protected, it will backfire,” he said, adding that there is delay and pressure around the SIT’s timeline, and that the investigation should have concluded by now.
Venugopal alleged that the people “know the real masterminds behind the scandal,” adding that his party was not scared of the SIT. Surendran’s questioning was deferred until the local body poll results were out, he added.
In 2019, the TDB, with sponsorship from Bengaluru businessman Unnikrishnan Potti, undertook gold plating of Sabarimala idols and pedestals. But, after allegations arose over a shortfall of four-plus kg of gold, the Kerala High Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and ordered a SIT probe in October last year.
While Surendran maintained that he was questioned given his status as a former Devaswom minister, CPI(M) state secretary M.V.Govindan said the party never protects any accused.
“We never look at who is accused and who is not. Neither the party nor the government will protect any accused,” he said Thursday, adding that Congress, which was fine with the probe, raised allegations after the information regarding the involvement of one of its own leaders surfaced.
The Congress, he said, should explain how Potti was able to meet Sonia Gandhi.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, too, trained his gun at the Congress, saying that the party should explain how Potti met Sonia, a leader with high security. “Is Adoor Prakash someone who would go anywhere just because Potti called? The opposition has no answers as to who facilitated this meeting,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Industries Minister P. Rajeev alleged the Congress was scared as the SIT probe would reveal the discrepancies dating back to the UDF tenure before the Left assumed power in 2016.
Also Read: Sabarimala administration is stuck in the 1960s
The controversy
According to the documents available from the Kerala High Court, 12 gold-cladded copper plates and two pedestals, totaling 42.800 kg, were transported to Chennai-based Smart Creations for gold plating. These items were previously gold-plated using 1.564 kg of gold in 1998.
A routine review revealed “grave irregularity”, as it took 39 days for the items to reach the Chennai firm. Moreover, the articles, the documents show, weighed only 38.258 kg after they were returned.
The court observed that this discrepancy was not recorded officially, which is a mandatory procedure. It also found that the 2019 records noted that the articles given to Potti were labelled as ‘copper’, despite being gold-plated in 1998.
Despite this, Potti was again entrusted with the gold-plating in September 2025, after TDB officials recorded that the Dwarapalakas (guardian deity sculptures flanking the main sanctum) required repair the year before. This was despite the Devaswom Board Sub-Group Manual prohibiting sacred artefacts from being shifted outside temple premises for repair, the court said in its observation.
During the transfer, the TDB officials noticed discrepancy in the 2019 transfer, including its labelling. It was also found that another set of Dwarapalakas were missing from the shrine’s strong room and later traced to Potti’s sister’s house in Thiruvananthapuram in October.
On 6 October, the HC took suo motu cognizance and ordered the SIT probe four days on. Soon, a series of arrests followed that month and the next. The bail petitions will come up for hearing 7 January, while the SIT is expected to submit an updated status report thereafter.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Poll season on horizon, Sabarimala gold ‘theft’ stirs the pot in Kerala. UDF takes on ruling LDF
