Why a popular Hindu temple in Kerala is mired in a gold theft row

A popular Hindu temple in southern India has been hit by a scandal after the Kerala High Court said there was evidence of some idols being stripped of their golden covering.

Gold and silver plating of idols and temple statues, mostly paid for by devotees, is common across temples in India. So, the theft of the Sabarimala shrine, which is visited by millions of pilgrims every year, surprised religious people and made headlines.

The Kerala High Court formed a special investigation team, police launched a probe into the disappearance of the gold and three people, including the former assistant priest of the temple, were arrested.

A two-judge panel monitoring the investigation has been holding regular hearings in the case since September, with the next hearing on Wednesday.

The hill shrine, dedicated to the Hindu deity Lord Ayyappa, had made headlines a few years ago as well. the The temple prohibits women of menstruating age The Supreme Court ordered an end to this discrimination. But after protests, the court agreed to review and postpone its historic ruling.

The current controversy centers around two idols of Dwarapalakas – or door guardians who stand outside the sanctum sanctorum where the main deity sits.

The court heard the case last September, after a report issued by the court-appointed special commissioner of Sabarimala revealed that idols had been stripped of their golden cladding in many places.

In a series of court orders since then, Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar say they have perused records submitted by temple officials, before and after photographs, and other documents compiled by the special court in “this extraordinary case involving the theft of sacred valuables of Lord Ayyappa”.

“Little did we realize that we were actually opening a hornet’s nest,” the judges said when they ordered temple officials to produce complete files and records related to the repair of the idols.

Temple records show that 30,291 kg of gold – donated by billionaire businessman Vijay Mallya – was used in 1998-99 to carry out the gold cladding of 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), which runs the temple, allowed prime suspect Unnikrishnan Bute – a former assistant priest at Sabarimala – to take out the idols for new gold cladding.

Two months later, when they were returned, they were not weighed, but the court says subsequent investigations revealed they were much lighter. Further investigations by the Special Investigation Team revealed the theft of pillars and door frames, with the court saying approximately 4.54 kg of gold had disappeared since 2019.

“Theft and plunder of gold” is how the judges described the case of the missing gold.

The court noted that it was highly unusual that Mr. Bhuti was allowed to remove the idols as repair work was generally done inside the temple. “While handing over the valuables to him,” the temple board registered the gold-covered items as “copper plates,” she added.

The judges also slammed the temple board for “wrongly allowing ‘Mr. Bhuti’ to keep around 474.9 grams of gold” after the repairs.

Referring to an email sent by Mr. Botti to the board requesting permission to use this “surplus gold” in “the marriage of a girl known or related to him,” the court said the matter was “extremely disturbing and once again reveals the extent of the irregularities involved.”

Mr Botti was arrested and sent to judicial custody by a judge and the BBC was unable to speak to him

But as he walked out of court after his arrest, he shouted at a crowd of waiting reporters that he was “trapped.”

“The truth will come out. Those who set me up for this will face the law. Everything will be revealed,” he said.

In the past few days, police have also arrested two board officials. Board Chairman BS Prasanth, who is also under investigation, did not respond to calls or messages from the BBC.

Earlier, he told reporters that “the current council has nothing to do with the case,” but added that he was “fully cooperating with the investigation” and “hopes that all perpetrators will be brought to justice.”

The special court was given six weeks to complete its investigations and the court pledged to “identify and bring to trial every person guilty in this case… regardless of their position, influence or standing.”

The scandal also led to a political row in the state as opposition parties organized protests against the communist government in Kerala.

“About 5 kg of gold has been stolen,” V D Sathisan, a member of the Congress party and leader of the opposition in the state legislature, told the BBC. “The court expressed its shock and observed that the officials bear just as much, if not more, blame in this case.”

Sathisan and other opposition politicians demanded that state temple affairs minister V N Vasavan take responsibility for failure to protect the valuables of the deity and resign.

Vasavan denied the allegations and rejected the opposition’s call for his resignation. He told the BBC: “We will cooperate fully with the court investigation conducted by a high-level police team.”

“Let people be aware of all the transactions that have taken place since 1998 and what is happening now. We have nothing to hide.”