The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged misappropriation of gold from the Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Temple has named former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth and former chief priest Kandararu Rajeevaru as accused in the case.
According to the SIT, Prasanth and Rajeevaru acted together as part of a criminal conspiracy and committed offences including criminal breach of trust and forgery. The investigation team told the Kerala High Court that it had gathered “overwhelming material” establishing the role of the accused.
Submitting a status report to the High Court on Monday, June 29, the SIT sought additional time to complete the investigation.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K V Jayakumar observed that members of the TDB had, with mala fide intent, permitted the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, to transport the temple’s gold-clad Dwarapalaka (guardian) idols to Chennai-based Smart Creations for gold plating in 2019, while deliberately describing them as “copper plates” in official records. The SIT further alleged that permission to re-plate the idols was granted again in 2025 in an attempt to conceal the alleged misappropriation that took place in 2019.
Besides Potty, who claimed to be the sponsor of the work, the SIT has also named Prasanth, Rajeevaru, former Sabarimala executive officer Murari Babu, Smart Creations owner Pankaj Bhandari and Thiruvabharanam Commissioner Rejilal as accused. They have been booked under Sections 316(2), 316(5), 336(2) and 61(2), read with Section 3(5), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The High Court had earlier directed the SIT to file its final report by June 29. However, it granted more time after the SIT informed the court that it was awaiting analysis reports from the National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 20.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Prasanth dismissed the allegations as “politically motivated”. Denying any involvement in the alleged conspiracy, he said he had met Unnikrishnan Potty only once. A former Congress leader who was expelled from the party for criticising its leadership, Prasanth joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 2021 and was appointed president of the Travancore Devaswom Board in 2023.
