Confident in SIT Probe, Hopes Missing Sabarimala Gold Will Be Recovered: TDB President

Pathanamthitta: Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth on Friday said the Board was “completely satisfied” with the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the loss of gold from the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala and expressed hope that the missing precious metal would be recovered and the culprits punished.
Prasanth said the SIT investigation was progressing effectively and that the TDB had “complete confidence” in the probe. The statements were made while speaking to a TV channel.
He explained that it was the recently arrested former administrative officer B. Murari Babu who proposed handing over the gold-plated copper claddings of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols to Bengaluru-based businessman Unnikrishnan Potty for gold-plating. The Board had not issued any orders benefiting either Babu or Potty, he added.
Prasanth said Murari Babu’s suggestion to hand over the claddings to Potty was based on the businessman’s prior warranty when he had carried out similar electroplating work in 2019. “Murari Babu said the Board would lose lakhs of rupees if the work was done through someone else. We therefore ordered that the thanthri’s permission be sought. The thanthri allowed taking the idols’ claddings to Chennai for electroplating, but not the door frames or other claddings,” he explained.
The TDB president criticised the media and the Congress-led opposition for seeking explanations from the current Board for events that occurred in 2019. He also rejected allegations of amassing disproportionate wealth, stating that his assets are worth only a few lakhs. Prasanth challenged Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, who demanded dissolving the Board, to disclose his own assets.
Murari Babu, who was suspended from TDB following the gold disappearance, was arrested by the SIT on Thursday and remanded to judicial custody. He is accused in two cases linked to the missing gold from the Dwarapalaka plates and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames of the temple.
In 2019, when the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, proposed electroplating the Dwarapalaka idols to the TDB, Murari Babu forwarded the proposal, claiming the gold-clad plates were made of copper. He reportedly forwarded a similar proposal from Potty again in 2025. At the time of his suspension, Murari Babu was serving as Deputy Devaswom Commissioner in Haripad.
The SIT, probing the case under the direction of the Kerala High Court, has already arrested Potty. The loss of gold came to light after the High Court initiated a suo motu plea regarding the removal of the Dwarapalaka idols’ claddings for electroplating without informing the court.