The Special Investigation Team (SIT) made a dramatic arrest in the Sabarimala temple gold disappearance case on Saturday, detaining former Devaswom Board executive officer Sudheesh Kumar after nearly eight hours of rigorous interrogation at the Crime Branch headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. Kumar stands accused of deliberately falsifying sacred temple records by categorizing the revered gold-clad Dwarapalaka guardian deity idols as simple copper-plated artifacts, a deception that allegedly facilitated the stripping and theft of the original precious gold layer during routine restoration activities in 2019.

Investigators disclosed that Kumar, who had maintained a deep institutional connection with the Sabarimala shrine dating back to the early 1990s, possessed intimate knowledge of the 1998–99 renovation that had lavishly gold-plated the sanctum sanctorum, including the Dwarapalaka idols. Despite this, when the idols were officially transferred to prime suspect Unnikrishnan Potty for additional electroplating work, Kumar reportedly entered them in the ledger as copper only—effectively erasing any trace of their true value and creating an administrative blind spot through which the gold could be siphoned off undetected.

With Kumar now in custody, he becomes the third individual apprehended in this escalating scandal, following the earlier arrests of Potty and former administrative officer B Murari Babu. Authorities confirmed he will be produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court later in the day for formal remand proceedings. Concurrently, the SIT also subjected Vasudevan, a trusted associate of Potty, to detailed questioning after evidence emerged that he had temporarily stored the idols’ gold-clad pedestal at his personal residence before it was ultimately recovered last month from a relative’s property in Thiruvananthapuram.

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The ongoing investigation now encompasses two intertwined cases: the systematic disappearance of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and a parallel theft involving the gold-plated door frames of the Sreekovil sanctum sanctorum. Both sets of priceless items had been officially handed over to Potty in 2019 under the guise of legitimate electroplating and restoration contracts, during which the alleged large-scale misappropriation took place with apparent insider complicity.

As the SIT methodically closes in on the full network behind the breach, the Sabarimala gold scandal has sent shockwaves through Kerala’s religious community, exposing vulnerabilities in temple administration and eroding public confidence in the stewardship of one of India’s most sacred pilgrimage sites.

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