Trails of Gold Heist at Sabarimala Temple

Fugitive economic offender Vijay Mallya donated about 30 kg of gold to the Sabarimala temple in Kerala two-and-a-half decades ago, while another alleged offender scrapped off 4.5 kg of gold from the panel of idols and pedestals sent to him for replating in 2019 weighing 42.8 kg gold as the earlier coating had faded off.

For seven long years it was kept under the wraps. The lid was lifted off the muck only when the idols’ panel were once again sent for replating to the same contractor who was granted the job in 2019. He is Unnikrishanan Potti, a priest-turned-middleman.

Though the theft came to light on September 20, 2025, the case against Potti was filed only in the first week of October. This shows the clout of Potti with the temple administrators and the politicians of the ruling alliance who oversee the temple. 

The Pinayari Vijayan government initially dithered over ordering investigation into the theft. Later, it ordered a probe into it following the pressure mounted by the opposition parties and when the matter reached the Kerala High Court.

The surprises do not end here. When the gold-coated panels of the idols and the pedestals were handed over to Potti for makeover in 2019, it was mysteriously written as copper plates in the temple records. In an email on August 11, 2019, Potti also mentioned that he had received copper panels for gold-coating.

The articles were sent for replating without inviting a tender and they were handed over to Potti without following the procedure. This robbery at one of the most-visited, highly-secured and monitored temples in Kerala took place with the alleged connivance of the functionaries of the Travancore Devasome Board. The prominent department and functionaries of the Board are the Vigilance Department, Special Devaswom Commissioner, chief priest (Melshanti), Thiruvabharanam Commissioner, Devaswom Administrative Officer, et al. Above all, there is a Devaswom Minister to oversee the administration of the temple.

Corroborative evidence to the connivance of the functionaries in the gold heist came when the main accused in the case Potti spilled the beans. He confessed to the police that the stolen gold was shared with various officials of the Devaswom. Among the 10 accused in the case, many are Devaswom Board officials.

Two FIRs have been lodged in the case. One is related to the missing gold from the panels/coverings of the idols while the second one is related to the missing gold in the doors of the sanctum of the temple. So far, two arrests have been made -- Potti and former administrative officer of Devaswom Board Murari Babu. More Devaswom officials are likely to be arrested in the matter.

Potti, who worked as an assistant to a priest at the temple between 2004 and 2008, was aware that copper plates of the idols were clad in gold in 1998. “Conniving with the other accused, he swindled gold weighing about 2 kg from the dwarpalaka idols and pillars, under the guise of maintenance. With the help of Smart Creations in Chennai, the gold was removed from the panels and to cover it up, 394-gram gold was plated on them,” says a report in the New Indian Express. 

According to the Special Investigation Team, Murari Babu fraudulently entered in the temple records in 2019 that the panels of the idols were of copper though he knew that it was gold-covered. The police stated this in the remand application of Babu filed in the special court. 

When the matter reached the High Court, the Judge observed that there was a major lapse on the part of the Devaswom Board in maintaining proper and verifiable accounts. It was also found during the hearing that audit of the temple accounts has not been carried out for several years.

The Devaswom Board manual does not permit taking the gold-coated plates outside the Sabarimala temple. All repair works have to be conducted at Sannidhanam (sanctum) only.  The Devaswom Board, along with the State government, recently organised an Ayyappa Sangamam at the base camp of the temple with great fanfare to lure back the Hindus into the fold. They had parted with the Left coalition government following its role over the entry into the temple of menstruating women following the Supreme Court judgement. But it failed to protect the wealth and sanctity of the temple.