A Rajasthan-origin jeweller’s assistant in Chennai has ignited fresh drama in the Sabarimala gold theft case by claiming he personally transported a packet of extracted temple gold from a Chennai firm to a jewellery outlet in Ballari, Karnataka. Kalpesh Jain, employed for 13 years at a Sowcarpet shop, stated that the consignment originated from Smart Creations in Ambattur Industrial Estate—where gold-plated sheets from Sabarimala were sent for repairs—and was delivered to Roddam Jewels, owned by Govardhan, a close associate of the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potti.

Jain insisted he received no payment for the transfer, describing it as a routine favor due to existing business ties between the firms. The packet allegedly contained gold stripped from the temple’s donated sheets during electroplating. While the authenticity of his public statement remains unverified, it aligns with earlier leads where Potti reportedly identified Jain as the middleman. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) recently recovered over 400 grams of matching gold bars from the Ballari shop, along with coins and cash from Potti’s properties.

The scandal erupted after a 2019 repair job revealed a 4.5 kg shortfall in 30.3 kg of gold donated by Vijay Mallya for Sabarimala’s sanctum and idols. Potti, who sponsored the work and cultivated ties with Govardhan at a Karnataka Ayyappa shrine while posing as a priest, is accused of masterminding the diversion. As his police custody ends on October 30, the SIT plans to grill former Travancore Devaswom Board officials, including ex-executive officer D Sudheesh Kumar and former secretary Jayasree, over oversight failures.

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With raids now spanning multiple states, the probe intensifies to trace the remaining missing gold. Jain’s confession has thrust the interstate smuggling angle into the spotlight, raising questions about how sacred donations were siphoned off under the guise of routine repairs. The SIT’s widening net signals more arrests and revelations in a case that has shaken faith in temple administration.

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