A famed Hindu temple in southern India is embroiled in a scandal after the Kerala high court said there was evidence that some of the idols have been stripped of their gold covering.
Gold and silver plating of idols and temple figurines, mostly paid for by devotees, is common across temples in India. So, the theft at Sabarimala shrine, visited by millions of pilgrims every year, has stunned the devout and made headlines.
The Kerala High Court has set up a special investigation team (SIT), police have begun an inquiry into the disappearance of gold and three people, including a former assistant temple priest, have been arrested.
A two-judge bench that is monitoring the investigation has been holding regular hearings in the case since September and the next sitting is on Wednesday.
The hill shrine, dedicated to Hindu deity Lord Ayyappa, had made headlines a few years back too. The temple bars women of menstruating age and was ordered by the Supreme Court to end this discrimination. But following protests, the court agreed to review its landmark ruling and put it on hold.
The current controversy centres around two idols of Dwarapalakas - or the door guards that stand just outside the sanctum sanctorum where the main deity sits.
The court took up the case in September after a report by the court-appointed Sabarimala Special Commissioner revealed that the idols were stripped of their gold-cladding in many places.
In a series of court orders since then, Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar say they have looked at the records submitted by temple officials, before-and-after photographs and other documents that the SIT has gathered into this extraordinary case involving the pilferage of Lord Ayyappa's sacred valuables.
The judges said when they directed the temple officials to produce complete files and records relating to the repair of the idols, little did we realise, that we were in fact opening a hornet's nest.
Temple records show that 30.291kg gold - donated by now-disgraced billionaire businessman Vijay Mallya - was used in 1998-99 to carry out gold-cladding on the idols and several parts of the temple, including some pillars, door arches and panels depicting stories of Lord Ayyappa.
The court says that in July 2019, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) that manages the temple allowed the main suspect Unnikrishnan Potty - a former assistant priest at Sabarimala - to take out the idols for fresh gold-cladding.
Two months later when they were brought back, they were not weighed, but the court says that later investigations have revealed they were a lot lighter. Further investigation by the SIT has revealed pilferage also from the pedestals and door frames and the court says that approximately 4.54kg gold has gone missing since 2019.
A heist and plundering of gold - that's how the judges have described the case of the missing gold.
What was highly unusual was that Mr Potty was allowed to take out the idols since repair work is generally done within the temple, the court noted. It added that while handing over the precious items to him, the temple board had recorded gold-cladded items as copper plates.
The judges have also been scathing in their criticism of the temple board for wrongfully permitting Mr Potty to retain approximately 474.9g of gold after the repairs.
Referring to an email Mr Potty sent to the board seeking permission to use this surplus gold for the marriage of a girl known or related to him, the court said it was deeply disturbing and exposes, yet again, the extent of the impropriety involved.
Mr Potty has been arrested and sent to judicial custody by a magistrate and the BBC has not been able to speak to him. But on his way out from the court after his arrest, he shouted at the throng of waiting reporters that he was being trapped.
The truth will come out. Those who trapped me in this will face the law. Everything will be revealed, he said.
In the past few days, police have also arrested two board officials. The board's president PS Prasanth, who is also under investigation, did not respond to calls or messages from the BBC.
Earlier, he told reporters that the current board had nothing to do with the issue but added that he was fully cooperating with the investigation and hoped that all culprits would be brought to justice.
The SIT has been given six weeks to complete its investigation and the court has vowed to identify and bring to book every person culpable in the matter… irrespective of the position, influence or status of the person.
The scandal has also led to a political row in the state with opposition parties holding protests against Kerala's Communist government.
About 5kg of gold has been stolen, Congress party's VD Satheesan, who is the leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly, told the BBC. The court has expressed shock and observed that the officials are equally, if not more, culpable in the matter.
Satheesan and other opposition politicians have demanded that the state's Minister for Temple Affairs VN Vasavan take responsibility for the failure to protect the god's valuables and resign.
Vasavan has denied the allegations and rejected the opposition's call for his resignation. We'll be fully cooperating with the court-monitored investigation by the high-level police team, he told the BBC.
Let the people be aware of all the transactions since 1998 and what's happening now. We have nothing to hide.
