SIT alleges former TDB officials ignored advice in Sabarimala gold loss case

The SIT has alleged that former TDB president P S Prasanth and former board member A Ajikumar ignored recommendations on traditional replating and entrusted work to a private firm. Investigators claim the decision concealed facts related to the alleged Sabarimala gold loss

Kollam (Kerala): The SIT probing the Sabarimala gold loss case has found that former TDB president P S Prasanth and former board member A Ajikumar ignored the recommendation of the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner to adopt the traditional method of replating and instead decided to entrust the work to Chennai-based Smart Creations.

The SIT stated this in a remand report filed before the Vigilance Court in Kollam following the arrest of Prasanth and Ajikumar on Thursday.

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The SIT is probing two cases relating to the alleged loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) at the Sabarimala temple after they were taken for electroplating in 2019.

The SIT recently informed the Kerala High Court that it was also probing a similar electroplating exercise carried out in 2025, when Prasanth was the TDB president.

In a report filed before the High Court, the SIT said the probe into the alleged pilfering of gold during the September 2025 electroplating exercise had been clubbed with the Dwarapalaka idol case.

According to the remand report, Prasanth, the 17th accused, Ajikumar, the 18th accused, and another board member, G Sundaresan, approved a Board decision in 2024 to carry out maintenance work on the Sabarimala temple’s Dwarapalaka sculpture panels.

However, as the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season was approaching, the work could not be carried out that year.

The report said Thiruvabharanam Commissioner Rejilal assumed charge on January 24, 2025, and, on the instructions of then TDB president Prasanth, examined the relevant files.

According to the SIT, Rejilal found that the Board had issued an order on November 1, 2024, to electroplate the Dwarapalaka panels.

A subsequent order dated November 6, 2024, excluded the then Thiruvabharanam Commissioner from the process due to health issues and directed a clerk and a Devaswom smith to proceed with the work, but no follow-up action was taken.

The report said Rejilal, being aware that Smart Creations did not possess the technology to recover the existing gold coating from the Dwarapalaka panels and reuse the same gold for replating, submitted reports to the TDB Secretary on July 30 and August 8, 2025, recommending that the traditional method be adopted.

However, acting on the instructions of Prasanth, Rejilal later sent a letter on August 25, 2025, stating that the panels could be sent to Smart Creations for gold plating, the report alleged.

The report further said Rejilal subsequently requested that a Board-level discussion involving the Devaswom Commissioner, Law Officer and Executive Officer be convened to decide issues, including the schedule for the maintenance work.

The SIT alleged that despite the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner’s earlier recommendations, the Board convened a meeting on September 2, 2025, under the chairmanship of Prasanth and decided to entrust the work to Smart Creations.

According to the report, the decision was taken in violation of an order issued by the Sabarimala Special Commissioner on June 30, 2023, which required the Kerala High Court to be informed in advance through the Sabarimala Special Commissioner before maintenance work was undertaken on valuable temple properties.

The report further alleged that Prasanth and Ajikumar intentionally failed to discharge their official duties and signed the Board note, enabling the Board to approve the proposal to send the Dwarapalaka panels for gold plating.

Based on the Board’s decision, the TDB Secretary issued the proceedings on September 3, 2025.

The SIT alleged that the decision was intended to prevent the true facts relating to the alleged gold loss during the 2019 maintenance work, including the quantity of gold lost, the quality of the gold plating, and the actual amount of gold used, from coming to light.

Prasanth is the third former TDB president to be arrested in connection with the probe into the two Sabarimala gold loss cases.

Shortly before being taken into custody, Prasanth said in a Facebook post that he feared imminent arrest and alleged that the action against him was politically motivated.

The SIT is expected to move the court seeking the custodial interrogation of Prasanth and Ajikumar.