The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the alleged Sabarimala gold misappropriation case took former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P.S. Prasanth into custody from his home in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. The action came shortly after the Kerala High Court directed investigators to speed up the long-running probe.
High Court pushes investigation forward
The latest action follows the Kerala High Court’s instruction to the SIT to complete the investigation without further delay. Only a few days earlier, the SIT informed the court that it planned to submit the final report in one of the two registered cases within the next 30 days.
According to investigators, scientific examination of temple artefacts has helped them understand how the alleged offence was carried out. The High Court has scheduled the next hearing of the matter for September 3.
Officials have also indicated that they are examining evidence to decide whether a third criminal case should be registered in connection with the alleged scam.
Two cases, several arrests and more action expected
The SIT has already registered two separate cases related to the alleged disappearance and misappropriation of gold from temple artefacts.
Several people named in the investigation were arrested earlier. However, they later secured statutory bail because the investigating agency could not file charge sheets within the legally required time. One of the accused has since died.
Investigators are now expected to take two more members of the administrative team that worked under Prasanth into custody as the probe continues.
Political journey and role at the Devaswom Board
P.S. Prasanth was earlier associated with the Congress party. After losing the 2021 Kerala Assembly election, he joined the CPI(M). He was later appointed president of the Travancore Devaswom Board, the statutory body that manages temples across south Kerala, including the Sabarimala temple.
With his detention, two former TDB presidents, both linked to the CPI(M), have now faced arrest in connection with the investigation. Both were jailed earlier but are currently out on bail.
Restoration work triggered questions
The controversy began during Prasanth’s tenure when concerns were raised over the restoration of the temple’s Dwarapalaka, or guardian, sculptures. The SIT questioned him several times regarding the decision to send the sculptures for restoration.
Investigators are examining whether the restoration process was connected to the alleged disappearance of gold from the temple artefacts.
Prasanth rejects allegations, calls case politically motivated
Just hours before he was taken into custody, Prasanth shared a detailed Facebook post defending his actions and claiming he was being targeted unfairly.
He said he was being made an accused not because he had committed any wrongdoing, but because his Board had exposed the alleged 2019 Sabarimala gold theft. Asking, “What was our mistake in 2025?”, he claimed his administration had worked honestly and transparently and had helped bring the alleged theft to public notice.
Prasanth also said he had expected his arrest and described the action against him as politically motivated.
Claims of no financial loss to the temple
Defending the restoration of the Dwarapalaka sculptures, Prasanth said they were sent to Chennai only to remove ritual impurity after the damaged sculptures had reportedly injured temple staff during cleaning.
He insisted that the Travancore Devaswom Board did not suffer even a single rupee in financial loss. According to him, the restored sculptures actually weighed more and contained a higher quantity of gold after they were reinstalled.
He further argued that the failure to inform the Special Commissioner before moving the sculptures was merely an administrative lapse by officials and not a decision taken by the Board.
Prasanth also maintained that it was his Board that submitted the 2019 records before the Kerala High Court and later handed over every document requested by the SIT, which, he claimed, ultimately helped uncover the alleged gold scam.
(With input from IANS.)