Sabarimala gold theft row: New doubts rise as jeweller claims he donated gold plate door in 2019
KOCHI: At a time when former presidents of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) are facing a probe into the alleged disappearance of gold from the Sabarimala temple, Govardhan, a jeweller from Ballari arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), has claimed that the newly gold-plated door frame was donated by him in June 2019. He stated that he donated 184g of gold, valued approximately at Rs 9 lakh. UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya had sponsored the gold cladding of the temple, including the roof, pillars, inscriptions, dwarapalakas, and doors,in 1999. The disclosures made in Govardhans bail plea, filed before the High Court on Monday, have added to suspicions that the original doors and frames were replaced with gold-plated frames in 2019. According to Govardhan, the door frame was handed over to Unnikrishnan Potti to be taken to Sabarimala. He later returned to Ballari and subsequently visited Sabarimala to attend the poojas and the assembly of the door frame. The bail plea also stated that there was no pecuniary loss to the TDB, as the entire gold obtained from Smart Creations was returned in full to the Board in 2019. Despite this, when the SIT visited his shop and residence in Ballari on October 24, they forcefully seized 474.970g of 24-carat imported gold, valued at Rs 59,40,449.79. Govardhan further claimed that a total of Rs 1.40 crore was spent by him on poojas, offerings, donations, and the gold seized by the SIT. The bail petition was filed through senior advocate P Vijayabhanu and advocate Thomas J Anakkallunkal. According to the petition, Govardhan became acquainted with Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the case, in 2007. Subsequently, at Pottis instance, he made several donations to Sabarimala. By the end of 2018, Potti informed him that the Sreekovil main door was proposed to be replaced and asked whether he would like to sponsor it. Considering it a rare honour and privilege, Govardhan agreed. The gold-plating work was carried out at Smart Creations, Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai. He stated that he incurred approximately Rs 35 lakh towards the entire project, including procurement, labour, and transportation. Govardhan further submitted that after the completion of the dwarapalaka work in September 2019, he was informed by Pankaj, managing director of Smart Creations, or by Unnikrishnan Potti, that 474.97g of gold extracted from the cladding remained at Smart Creations. He then arranged to collect the gold through Kalpesh, an employee of Shenky, owner of Shri Kalikund Jewellers, Chennai, who handed over the gold to him in Ballari. At the relevant time, gold was valued at about Rs 14,97,288, calculated at approximatelyRs 3,120 per gram for 22-carat gold. As directed by Unnikrishnan Potti, the amount was remitted through demand drafts in favour of the executive officer, Sabarimala, Sree Dharmasastha Annadhana Trust. The court will hear the bail plea on Tuesday, December 23.
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