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Pathanamthitta (Kerala): The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the missing gold from the Sabarimala temple arrested former administrative officer B Murari Babu, sources said on Thursday. Babu, who was suspended by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) following the gold missing row, was taken into custody from his residence in Changanassery on Wednesday night, they said. He was later shifted to the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram for interrogation, officials said. Babu's relatives reached the Crime Branch office on Thursday morning. At around 10 am, SIT recorded Babu's arrest and informed his relative about the procedure, sources said. They were later allowed to meet the Babu. SIT will produce Babu before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Pathanamthitta here in the evening, officials said. SIT is likely to file a petition in court seeking custody of Babu for detailed interrogation.
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday pulled up the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for removing the gold-plated copper coverings from the Dwarapalaka idols at Sabarimala without informing the Special Commissioner. A Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K V Jayakumar, while considering the Sabarimala Special Commissioner's report, expressed concern over repair works being carried out in Chennai in violation of procedures and court oversight. Installed in 2019 with a 40-year guarantee, the gold-plated coverings developed defects within six years. Sponsored by d ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 10 (ANI): In a scathing attack on the Kerala government amid the escalating Sabarimala gold plating controversy, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader V Muraleedharan on Friday accused the state administration of betraying the trust of devotees and demanded the immediate dismissal of the Devaswom Minister along with the dissolution of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). Muraleedharan said that the Kerala High Court's intervention in the matter was a "clear indictment" of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijay ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 22 (ANI): Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan and the dissolution of Travancore Devaswom Board over the Sabarimala gold "theft" issue. He also accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of trying to "brush the issue under the carpet." "Our position as the BJP has been a sharp contrast with the attempts of the CM to try and brush this under the carpet. When 4.5 kgs of gold from a sacred shrine like Sabarimala go missing, we consider it a crime...So, we have maintained from day 1 that ...Read More >
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday offered prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta. IMAGE: President Droupadi Murmu offeres prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala. Photograph: Courtesy @BJMM4Kerala/X President Murmu is the first woman head of state to visit the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala for offering prayers. She is also the second president to visit the shrine as before her, former President V V Giri had visited Sabarimala in the 1970s and had tr ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday said he shared all the information available with him regarding the Sabarimala gold scam with the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case.Speaking to the media after giving his statement to the SIT, Chennithala said he informed the probe team about the possible links between the theft and international antique smuggling networks. He clarified that the details he provided were information he received in his capacity ...Read More >
Bengaluru/T'puram: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the alleged gold theft at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, raided a house at Nagappa Block, Srirampura, in northern Bengaluru on Saturday and recovered materials and documents in connection with the case.A senior officer from Bengaluru said a Kerala police inspector and sub-inspector led the search. A source said the house belongs to Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the case. Meanwhile, the SIT has recovered the gold Potti handed over to the gold trader Govardhan of Ballari. The SIT led by SP Sasidharan recovered the gold from t ...Read More >
Pathanamthitta (Kerala) [India], November 20 (ANI): The Special Investigation Team on Thursday arrested former Travancore Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar in the Sabarimala gold theft case, officials said. He was the Devaswom Board president in 2019, when the gold theft took place. The arrest came after the SIT questioned him for several hours at the State Police Headquarters since this morning. Also Read | 5G Network Expansion: India Set To Cross 1 Million 5G Subscription by End of 2031, Reflecting Rapid Growth in Adoption in Just 3 Years of Service Rollout, Says Report. On November 1 ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Two months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a gathering of party workers in Kerala's capital, Thiruvananthapuram, that if the BJP came to power in the state, the Sabarimala gold theft case would be thoroughly investigated and the accused would be jailed. "This is Modi's guarantee," he said, drawing thunderous applause. However, on Sunday, two months later, at his first election rally in Palakkad ahead of the assembly polls, the Prime Minister made no mention of Sabarima ...Read More >
KOCHI: Hardening its stance against the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for sending gold-plated sheets of 'dwarapalaka idols' of the Sabarimala temple to Chennai for repair without following proper procedure, the Kerala High Court on Friday directed the TDB's chief vigilance and security officer (SP) to seize all the records related to the gold plating of the idols and other items since the date of original cladding. It also impleaded Unnikrishnan Potty of Bengaluru, who is sponsoring the repair, and Smart Creations of Chennai, which is undertaking it, in the case and asked the registry to is ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 6 (ANI): The General Secretary of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, Vellappally Natesan has heavily criticised Kerala's temple administration system, questioning whether "Devaswom Boards have become a curse." Criticising the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for sending gold-plated panels from the temple's Dwarapalaka idols to Chennai for repair without informing the High Court, Natesan wrote in 'Yoganadam', the official mouthpiece of the SNDP Yogam, that such an incident is "deeply painful for Ayyappa devotees" and highlighted that the a ...Read More >
Kochi, Sep 12 (PTI) The Kerala High Court on Friday ordered immediate seizure of the entire records related to the gold-plating of the 'Dwarapalaka' (guardian deity) idols in front of the Sabarimala sanctum sanctorum, saying there were a lot of "unanswered questions" regarding it. The direction by a bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar came during hearing of a plea initiated by the court on its own with regard to the removal of the gold-plated copper coverings of the 'Dwarapalaka' idols located on either side of the Sreekovil without prior intimation to the Special Commis ...Read More >
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 26 (ANI): The Special Investigation Team (SIT), appointed by the Kerala High Court has questioned Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Smart Creation in Chennai, over the alleged disappearance of gold linked to the Sabarimala temple's restoration work. The company had undertaken the electroplating of gold-clad copper coverings for the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols at the Sabarimala Ayyappan Temple. The SIT brought the accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, to Chennai after raiding his residence in Bengaluru. Potti, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, was ...Read More >
PM Modi said that Kerala has great potential, yet continues to lag behind other states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the countdown for removal of the LDF government in Kerala has started, and a BJP-led NDA will come to power in the state. Speaking at a BJP-led NDA rally here in Pathanamthitta district, Modi said that the saffron party workers in the state have signalled a strong mood to bid farewell to the Left rule. Elections to 140 Assembly seats will be held on April 9 ...Read More >
The Kerala Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday conducted a raid at the Bengaluru residence of Potti Unnikrishnan as part of the ongoing probe. Unnikrishnan, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, was taken to Bengaluru on Friday for evidence collection, has been remanded to police custody until October 30. The SIT is examining his involvement in the 2019 theft of the gold-plated panels from the Sabarimala temple's Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) panels. Meanwhile, on Thursda ...Read More >
The SIT probing the Sabarimala gold theft has requested permission from the Thantri to conduct a scientific inspection at the Sannidhanam. The SIT aims to examine the gold-plated sheets on the Dwarapalaka sculptures and door frames. Pathanamthitta: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case has requested permission from the Thantri to carry out a scientific inspection at the Sannidhanam. The formal request was submitted to Thantri Mahesh Mohanaru through the Deva ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday criticised the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) over their "U-turn" on Sabarimala women entry issue. The saffron party added that though it was "happy" with their stance now, it sought clarification over the shift. Both LDF and UDF had hailed the SC's 2018 verdict which allowed entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala temple. However, both the parties have softened their stance on the same."BJP is the only political party which has taken a consistent stand to protect the faith of Sab ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 10 (ANI): In a scathing attack on the Kerala government amid the escalating Sabarimala gold plating controversy, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader V Muraleedharan on Friday accused the state administration of betraying the trust of devotees and demanded the immediate dismissal of the Devaswom Minister along with the dissolution of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). Muraleedharan said that the Kerala High Court's intervention in the matter was a "clear indictment" of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijay ...Read More >
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the loss of gold from Sabarimala temple conducted searches at the prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty's Bengaluru apartment and a jewellery shop in Ballari. Gold bars were seized from the shop, owned by Govardhan, who reportedly funded the temple's Sreekovil door frame gold-plating work sponsored by Potty. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the loss of gold from the Sabarimala temple conducted searches at the apartment of prime accused Unnikris ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 1 (PTI) The opposition Congress and the BJP on Wednesday questioned why the gold-plated cladding of the 'Dwarapalakas' was removed in 2019 for renovation, why its weight was reduced when it was brought back to the shrine, and demanded a comprehensive probe into the matter. Both the BJP and Congress alleged that these actions took place with the knowledge of the government and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, V D Satheesan, questioned why the cladding -- which had a 40-year guarantee after being gold-plated in 1990 -- ...Read More >
Unnikrishnan Potty, who allegedly sponsored gold plating of temple items in 2019, has been arrested from his Thiruvananthapuram residence. This comes after Kerala HC found that the items that Potty allegedly took for gold plating in 2019 had been missing gold. A Special Investigation Team probing alleged misappropriation of gold from the Sabarimala temple Thursday took Unnikrishnan Potty, who had sponsored gold-plating of temple items, into custody. Following directions from the Kerala High Cou ...Read More >
Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Oct 17 (PTI) A local court in Ranni here on Friday granted custody of Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold missing case, to the SIT probing the matter. The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court granted the custody of Potty to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) till October 30. The accused claimed he had been 'trapped' by somone. "Those who trapped me will come before the law," he told reporters while being taken out of the court. A person in the crowd gathered outside the court hurled a footwear at Potty as he was being escorted out of the ...Read More >
Kochi, Sep 12 ( IANS) The Kerala High Court on Friday came down heavily on the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for removing gold-plated copper coverings from the Dwarapalaka (guardian) idols at Sabarimala without informing the court-appointed Special Commissioner. A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K.V. Jayakumar, while hearing the Special Commissioner's report, expressed concern that the TDB bypassed procedure and court oversight by sending the ornaments for repairs to a Chennai-based firm, Smart Creations. The gold-plated coverings, guaranteed for 40 years when i ...Read More >
Malappuram (Kerala) | Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly, V D Satheesan on Tuesday accused the ruling CPI (M) of having an "unholy alliance" with the BJP and cited a message from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, which was read out at the recent Global Ayyappa Sangamam, as the latest example of this partnership. Continuing to criticise Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the Sangamam held in Pampa, he alleged that the Marxist party veteran tried to showcase a "pseudo devotion" during the event. "By showing pseudo devotion... by creating an impression of devotion, he tri ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram [Kerala], October 2 (ANI): The Sabrimala gold-plating controversy has intensified, with investigators struggling to trace key records linked to the 30.3 kg of gold and 1,900 kg of copper donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998 for cladding the sanctum sanctorum and wooden carvings of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala. Also Read | Mohan Bhagwat Says 'Pahalgam Attack Revealed India's True Friends' During Public Address on RSS 100th Anniversary (Watch Video). Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan, in response to ANI, said a detailed probe was underway under High Court sup ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 17 (ANI): In a major development, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Kerala High Court has arrested Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, on Friday. The arrest was officially recorded at 2:30 a.m. on Friday. Also Read | Kolkata Fatafat Result Today, October 17, 2025: Kolkata FF Live Winning Numbers Released, Know When and Where To Check Result Chart of Satta Matka-Type Lottery Game. Unnikrishnan Potti's arrest pertains to the theft of gold plating from the sanctum's wooden panels and the Dwara ...Read More >
Sabarimala temple's former administrative officer B Murari Babu has been taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team probing missing gold. Babu, suspended by the Travancore Devaswom Board, is accused in cases involving the disappearance of gold from temple idols and door frames. He allegedly forwarded proposals for electroplating, claiming the gold-clad plates were copper. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the missing gold from the Sabarimala temple has taken former administr ...Read More >
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Crime Branch Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President A. Padmakumar on Thursday, in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case. Padmakumar, a senior CPM leader and former MLA, was grilled by the SIT at the Crime Branch headquarters here before his arrest. The former TDB president is suspected of being involved in the case. According to the probe team, the gold used for plating the Sanctum Sanctorum (Sreekovil) door frames was allegedly recorded as copper under instructions from former Devaswom Commissioner N Vasu. ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 1 (PTI) Travancore Devaswom Board president P S Prasanth on Monday said the temple body will try to convince the Supreme Court about the rituals and customs of the Sabarimala shrine. "Everybody knows about the rituals and customs of Sabarimala. We will try to convince the Supreme Court about this. We have to consult with legal experts, and we will do whatever we can in this regard," Prasanth told reporters here, responding to a query. He added that the board would seek legal advice before making its submissions. In 2018, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on women of m ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 22 (ANI): Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrashekhar has slammed the state government over the Sabarimala gold theft row, in view of President Droupadi Murmu's visit to Kerala. Before the President's arrival, speaking on the issue, Chandrashekhar said, "President Droupadi Murmu is visiting Kerala for four days. During her visit, she will visit the Sabarimala temple to seek blessings. We informed her about the shocking events unfolding in Sabarimala. The President was very shocked to hear this. The Devasom Board is converted into an organisation of ...Read More >
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP on Wednesday announced a two-day protest in front of the secretariat on October 24 and 25, demanding the resignation of Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan and the dissolution of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). "Even the High Court pointed out that there appears to be a larger conspiracy and directed the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT). We have been saying this from the very beginning," BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, referring to the Sabarimala gold theft. He said the party had already written to Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding ...Read More >