Sabarimala gold theft: SIT begins inspection at Sannidhanam, all eyes on strong room

PATHANAMTHITTA: The Special Investigation Team resumed investigation at Sannidhanam in the Sabarimala gold theft case. When the first accused in the case, Unnikrishnan Potty, sponsored a new door at the shrine, the old door was moved to the strong room. It is mainly to take stock of this that the SIT team reached the holy shrine on Tuesday. The other items moved to the strong room will also be inspected. A decision was reached to conduct further investigation into the Dwarapalaka sculptures and the demolition of the Kodimaram (sacred pillar).

Meanwhile, the VSSC's scientific examination report states that when the gold plates taken from Sabarimala were returned, they were contaminated with nickel metal. Nickel is a shiny metal with a slight golden hue. The plates taken away contained traces of mercury, which was used to attach the gold.

The recovered layers did not contain any trace of mercury. In addition to nickel, acrylic polymer was mixed in significant quantities. The SIT report says that the extent of the gold theft can be understood by comparing the thickness of the old pure gold layer and the current amount of nickel acrylic polymer. This is also an indication of how well-planned the theft was. Suspicions are growing over the big conspiracy hatched for the theft. The report also contains crucial indications of the change in gold in the years 2024-2025.