Lied despite having gold pedestal in hand, conspiracy hatched, says board president

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is a mystery in finding the pedestal of the Dwarapalaka idols that went missing from Sabarimala, from the house of the sponsor, also the complainant, said Devaswom Board president P S Prashanth. He also alleged that this was a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the Global Ayyappa Sangamam.

'The vigilance SP is investigating the incident in detail. The devaswom board has nothing to hide and so is not afraid of the investigation. Sponsor Unnikrishnan Potty levelled the allegations five days before the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. A conspiracy was hatched in the incident. He lied despite having the pedestal. The devaswom vigilance will submit a report to the court today. Who will be held responsible for the board's lost respect,' he asked.

Unnikrishnan Potty is an industrialist in Bengaluru. The devaswom vigilance recovered the pedestal made of gold and three other metals from the house of Potty's sister Mini Antharjanam at Valiya Kattakkal in Venjaramoodu. It has been shifted to the strong room.

The court had questioned taking the gold-plated sheets of Dwarapalaka idols to Potty’s Smart Creations in Chennai, for repair. When the plates, which weighed 42 kg, were returned after gold-plating, there was a weight loss of four kilos. This had sparked a controversy.

Potty had said that in addition to the pedestal of Dwarpalaka idols, two more pedestals were built. He had also hinted that they were in the board's strong room. After the high court directed to find them, the vigilance inspected the board’s strong rooms. Unnikrishnan Potty was questioned. A clue was obtained after searches were conducted at his houses in Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru.

The pedestal was kept in the house of Vasudevan of Karate, who is Potty's assistant, since 2021. Vasudevan informed Unnikrishnan that he cannot keep it after the high court ordered an investigation. It was then shifted to Potty’s sister's house on September 21st. Vigilance will submit a report to the high court tomorrow.