Sabarimala gold theft: Scientific investigation report submitted in Vigilance Court
KOLLAM: The inspection report of the Metallurgical Lab in Jamshedpur regarding the gold theft at the Sabarimala shrine was submitted to the Kollam Vigilance Court in a sealed cover by the Special Investigation Team. The first phase report, which contains the results of 36 samples collected from the Dwarpalaka sculpture, Kattilapalli (gold-clad door frame) and Peethas of the Sabarimala shrine, to accurately estimate the amount of gold stolen, has reached the court.
The report contains complex scientific information. It is reported that the depth of the gold theft will be clear only when the Special Investigation Team evaluates the report with the help of experts. It is indicated that the report contains information to accurately understand the amount of gold plated on the Dwarpalaka sculpture, Kattilapalli, at various stages. The evaluation report will be submitted to the SIT High Court and the Kollam Vigilance Court.
The SIT did not file the chargesheet in the Dwarapalaka and Kattilapalli cases because the exact amount of gold stolen was unknown. The exact amount of gold stolen will be clear once the results of some more samples come from the metallurgical lab. With this, the chargesheet will be finalised, and prosecution permission will be sought from the government in both cases. After that, the chargesheet will be filed in the Kollam Vigilance Court.
The Thiruvananthapuram VSSC, which had earlier collected samples from the gold-plated Dwarapalaka sculpture and the Kattilapalli, could not accurately estimate the amount of gold lost in the earlier inspection. Samples were collected from the Kattilapalli of the Sabarimala shrine four months ago and sent for inspection. Meanwhile, Devaswom Minister K. Muraleedharan said that he was not satisfied with the current SIT investigation. Since it is a team appointed by the High Court, the government cannot interfere. He said that further action will be taken after examining the legal aspects.