Crime Branch registers a case of “misappropriation” of Sabarimala temple artefacts

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Thiruvananthapuram 

The Kerala police crime branch has reportedly registered a case concerning the alleged misappropriation and possible replication of Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple artefacts for sale to wealthy collectors for private worship. 

The State Police Chief Ravada A. Chandrasekhar had ordered the probe following a petition submitted by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). Officials said the Crime Branch would transfer the case to the High Court-appointed Special Investigation Team headed by Additional Director General of Police, H. Venkatesh.

The First Information Report (FIR) report was yet to emerge in the public domain. However, officials privy to the proceedings said the Crime Branch would likely name at least 11 persons, including Unnikrishnan Potti, a socially connected priest who had earlier worked as a pooja assistant at the temple. The sections reportedly included conspiracy, cheating, confidence trickery and theft of temple property.

Officials said the TDB’s questionable decision to contract Mr. Potti in 2019 for restoring the gold-plated copper coverings enveloping ancient stone carvings and sculptures at the temple had brought the priest under the ambit of the SIT probe.

Moreover, the vigilance wing of the Travancore Devaswom Board, which conducted a preliminary enquiry at the behest of the High Court, had recovered two gold-inlaid copper coverings donated to the temple from the house of Mr Potti’s sister in Thiruvananthapuram in September.

The SIT will likely examine whether the “misleading attestation” by certain TDB officials that the claddings entrusted with Mr Potti for repair were made of pure copper and contained no gold pointed to conspiracy, abetment of theft and violation of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Businessperson Vijay Mallya had donated the coverings, containing an estimated 38 kgs of gold and the rest copper, to the temple in 1999.

Officials said the SIT has taken serious cognisance of the High Court’s question whether the suspects had replicated the coverings with the intention of selling the originals to wealthy collectors for private worship.

The vigilance wing of the TDB had found that two of Mr Potti’s alleged aids had accepted custody of the coverings from temple authorities. However, there was a 48-day delay on their part to deposit the artefacts at the Chennai factory for repair. The vigilance had also flagged alleged attempts by the suspects to monetise the “sacred objects” by taking them around Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad for private worship.

The vigilance had also not ruled out the possibility of a violation of the Prevention of Corruption Act by specific TDB officials involved in the controversial transaction. The SIT will base its camp office in the Pathanamthitta district, even as the the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have signalled distrust in the SIT probe and have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.