Former Sabarimala Temple Executive Officer Arrested in Missing Gold Case

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the missing gold from Sabarimala temple has arrested former executive officer Sudheesh Kumar in connection with the case, according to PTI. Kumar, who served as the temple’s executive officer in 2019, was taken into custody after questioning at the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram. He is accused of concealing the fact that the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols were gold-plated and falsely recording them as copper sheets in the temple’s official documents.

This marks the third arrest in the case, following the detention of Unnikrishnan Potty, who sponsored the electroplating of the idols, and former administrative officer B. Murari Babu. Investigators said Kumar, who had long been associated with Sabarimala, played a key role in misrepresenting the gold-clad plates, enabling the main accused to remove the gold plating without suspicion. The SIT also questioned Vasudevan, a close aide of Potty, after an additional gold-plated pedestal was found at a relative’s home in Thiruvananthapuram.

In October, about 400 grams of stolen gold were recovered from a jewellery shop in Bellari, Karnataka. The gold, allegedly handed over by Potty to an associate, was seized during a police raid. The case dates back to 2019, when gold-plated copper plates adorning the Dwarapalaka idols were removed for re-plating. Out of the initial 42.8 kg of gold, only 38.26 kg were accounted for when handed to a Chennai firm, revealing a shortfall of approximately 4.54 kg.

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