The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged disappearance of gold from the famed Sabarimala temple has arrested former executive officer Sudheesh Kumar in connection with the temple gold theft case, officials said on Saturday.
Kumar, who served as the executive officer of the hill shrine in 2019, was taken into custody after hours of questioning at the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram. According to investigators, he allegedly played a crucial role in concealing the actual composition of certain sacred items during his tenure, paving the way for the misappropriation of gold.
The SIT claims that Kumar deliberately recorded the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols as being covered with copper sheets in the temple’s official documents, despite knowing that they were gold-plated. This alleged misrepresentation enabled others involved in the case to remove the gold plating under the guise of routine maintenance and electroplating.
Sources said Kumar has had a long association with Sabarimala since the 1990s and possessed in-depth knowledge of the temple’s structure and traditions. He was reportedly aware that the sanctum sanctorum, including the Dwarapalaka idols, had been gold-plated during 1998–99 as part of renovation works.
However, when the Dwarapalaka plates were handed over in 2019 to the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, for gold plating, Kumar allegedly documented them as copper plates in the official register. This act, investigators allege, facilitated the removal of the existing gold layer from the idols and other components without raising suspicion.
With his arrest, Kumar becomes the third person to be taken into custody in the case, following the arrests of Potty and former administrative officer B. Murari Babu. Officials said Kumar will be produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court later on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the SIT has also questioned Vasudevan, a close aide of Potty, in connection with the case. Investigators revealed that Vasudevan had kept the additional gold-clad pedestal of the Dwarapalaka idols in his custody for some time. The item was later seized from the residence of Potty’s relative in Thiruvananthapuram during a raid conducted last month.
The ongoing investigation focuses on two interconnected cases one related to the missing gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the other involving the gold plating on the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames. Both items had been handed over to Potty for electroplating in 2019.
Officials said the SIT is now verifying the chain of custody of all temple items handed over for restoration during that period. More arrests are likely as the investigation progresses, they added.
The alleged disappearance of temple gold has sparked widespread concern among devotees and temple authorities, with calls for stricter oversight and transparency in temple administration.
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