Sabarimala gold loot: SIT says loot could be much bigger and graver; Gold from Prabha Mandalam, Shiva and Vyali idols also stolen

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the Sabarimala temple gold loot, has found that the scale of the scam could be much bigger and graver than initially reported.

The SIT found that the Sabarimala gold theft is significantly more extensive than initially reported, revealing that gold was methodically stripped from multiple sacred structures in the custody application filed before the Vigilance Court, Kollam, for the interrogation of the first accused, Unnikrishnan Potti; the ninth accused, Pankaj Bhandari; and the tenth accused, Pandurangaiah Naga Govardhan.

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The SIT, the other day, submitted that apart from the door frames and idols, the Prabha Mandalam (halo/archway) figures, a gold-cladded Shiva idol on its top, the arch including the Vyali roopam (dragon figures), the raashi plates, the Dasharadha plates and the upper side of the door frame were entrusted to Potty on the pretext of gold cladding by falsely denoting the entire items as copper materials.

The SIT also informed the court that the investigative team has not yet been able to fully recover the gold stolen from the temple. The team informed that only 584 grams of the gold were recovered, which is less than what was originally stolen from the temple.

In order to accurately determine the amount of gold, samples have been collected from the gold plates on the Sabarimala shrine with the help of experts and sent to the Thiruvananthapuram VSSC for scientific testing through the court. The SIT has stated in its report submitted to the court that it is waiting for the results. The investigation team indicates that the looting at Sabarimala was planned.