International style for Sabarimala gold heist; similar to Subhash Kapoor's operation: High Court points finger at grand conspiracy

KOCHI: The High Court has said that the gold heist in Sabarimala is similar to the modus operandi of an international gang that steals temple artefacts. This is similar to the operation carried out by notorious idol thief Subhash Kapoor. The temple artworks can be sold at a high price in the international market. The court also said that the suspicion that the originals of the gold-plated valuables in Sabarimala were stolen and copies were produced has been strengthened.

The gold-plated main door of the shrine was handed over to Unnikrishnan Potty for repair. This has to be investigated. It is clear from the documents that all the mysterious transactions were made with the knowledge of the Devaswom Board authorities. Correspondence has taken place. It can be seen that nothing has been recorded in the seized Devaswom minutes after July 28, 2025. It should be remembered that the Dwarapalaka sculptures were given for repair this time after this. This is also a serious irregularity.

It was a deliberate attempt to mislead by mentioning that copper layers are being sent. Therefore, the Devaswom bench comprising Justice V. Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K.V. Jayakumar, ordered the SIT to study the imposition of sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against them.

Gold turned into copper

 Unnikrishnan Potty was entrusted with the repair of the door of the shrine in 2018-2019. Potty assigned the task to a carpenter named Nandan from Thrissur

 A new door was made of wood in Bengaluru and brought to Hyderabad, covered with copper and gold-plated in Chennai

 The old door of the shrine was replaced. Vijay Mallya's company had covered it with 2519.76 grams of 24-carat gold in 1998-99

 The door was replaced with the door made by Potty. It is clear from the Mahasar that only 324.40 grams of gold was used for coating it

 The door was brought to Sannidhanam in March 2019 and a pooja was performed at the Elampally temple in Kottayam. A film actor and Devaswom officials attended

Subhash Kapoor

American citizen of Indian origin. International art smuggler. Arrested by US Customs in 2011 for selling a 14th-century Parvati idol stolen from Tamil Nadu and other items abroad. The idol was worth Rs 44 crore. Kapoor was lodged in Tiruchirappalli jail after the US extradited him.