Sabarimala gold theft: Ex-executive officer Sudheesh Kumar arrested; 3rd arrest in case

PATHANAMTHITTA: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Kerala has arrested Sudheesh Kumar, the former executive officer of Sabarimala temple, for allegedly concealing information about gold-plated Dwarapalaka idols by recording them as copper sheets in official documents. Kumar was taken into custody on Saturday after questioning at the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram, according to news agency PTI.

Kumar, who had been associated with Sabarimala since the 1990s, was aware that the sanctum sanctorum, including the Dwarapalaka idols, had been gold-clad during 1998-99. In 2019, when he served as the executive officer, he allegedly documented the Dwarapalaka plates as copper when they were handed over to Unnikrishnan Potty for gold plating.

An officer revealed that this documentation enabled Potty to remove the existing gold plating later. Kumar is the third person arrested in the case, following the arrests of Potty and former administrative officer B Murari Babu.

The SIT is currently investigating two related cases regarding the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), which were given to Potty for electroplating in 2019.

The investigation team also interrogated Vasudevan, a close associate of Potty. Investigators discovered that Vasudevan had kept the additional gold-clad pedestal of the Dwarapalaka idols, which was later found at the house of Potty's relative in Thiruvananthapuram last month.

Officials stated that Kumar will be presented before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court.