Rs 6 lakh needed for annadanam, Unnikrishnan Potty collected more

PATHANAMTHITTA: More information surface on Bengaluru businessman Unnikrishnan Potty, who took up the sponsorship to gold plate the sheets of the Dwarpalaka idols. Reports said that he initially took loans at low interest rates and lent the amount to people at more than double the interest.

Similarly, some information has emerged in connection with the sponsorship. Sources said that he collected money for this by exploiting wealthy Ayyappa devotees in Karnataka. He was a priest at the Sri Dharma Shastra Ayyappa Temple at Srirampuram in Bengaluru. Unnikrishnan Potty came to Sabarimala as an assistant to Keezhshanthi ten years ago. This is how he gained the trust of wealthy Ayyappa devotees from other states.

In addition, he, a close friend of some officials and priests, had complete freedom in Sabarimala. He provides darshan facilities to industrialists and others. He makes illegal interventions, including during padipuja. He is behind the introduction of a new offering called Ashtabhishekam. Earlier, padipuja bookings were available only during the pilgrimage season and during monthly pujas. He used to bring people to perform padipuja on special days when the temple had to be opened. He collected a large amount for this from the devotees.

He started to be known as a sponsor among people from other states after becoming an intermediary for making various offerings. There are reports that the gold plating of the Dwarpalaka idols was done by collecting money from the rich.

Unnikrishnan Potty is said to have also taken over the sponsorship of annadanam (offering food as charity) at Sannidhanam by collecting money in this way. An amount of Rs 6 lakh has to be paid to the devaswom. However, it is said that he had collected five times of this amount.