Tensions flared in the Kerala Assembly on Saturday as opposition members, led by Congress, staged a walkout demanding the resignation of the Devaswom Minister over the alleged Sabarimala gold theft case. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan accused the government of shielding those involved in the scandal and reiterated the demand for the removal of the Travancore Devaswom Board.
Announcing that protests would continue both inside and outside the Assembly, Satheesan said, “The High Court has made it clear that the person, the Devasambodhi, is also having a role. Again, they are taking the sculpture of the Sabarimala temple outside. They knew very well that there was a fraud, a pilferage of gold, earlier… That is why we are asking to expel the Devaswom board.”
#WATCH | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Opposition members walk out of the assembly over the Sabarimala gold theft case. pic.twitter.com/qMZ9lNBJfK
— ANI (@ANI) November 1, 2025
Sabarimala Gold Theft Case
Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the disappearance of gold from the Sabarimala temple arrested former executive officer Sudheesh Kumar, who served at the shrine in 2019. Officials said Kumar was taken into custody after interrogation at the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram.
According to investigators, Kumar allegedly concealed the fact that the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols were gold-plated, falsely recording them as copper in official documents. This discrepancy allegedly enabled the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, to strip the idols of their gold plating.
It was revealed that Kumar, associated with the temple since the 1990s, was aware that the idols and sanctum sanctorum had been gold-clad during 1998–99. He is the third person arrested in the case, following Potty and former administrative officer B. Murari Babu.
The SIT also questioned Vasudevan, a close aide of Potty, who allegedly stored a gold-clad pedestal from the idols. The item was later recovered from Potty’s relative’s residence in Thiruvananthapuram.
Investigators are currently probing two related cases—the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and from the Sreekovil’s door frames—both of which were handed over for electroplating in 2019.
