Sabarimala gold theft: High Court orders fresh testing of panels; special probe to be conducted regarding flag mast

KOCHI: The High Court has issued an interim order directing the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to collect fresh samples from the gold-plated panels at Sabarimala and conduct further tests. The samples were initially sent to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) for examination. The SIT had requested the High Court to allow testing by another agency as well, and the court has now approved the request. The new tests will examine whether the panels were altered in any way and how much gold is currently present on them.

The hearing in the case was held in a closed courtroom. The court is also reported to have given certain directions to the investigating officers. Some witnesses were examined today. A separate investigation will also be carried out on the temple’s flag mast. The case will be considered again on February 19.

The SIT had earlier submitted a progress report before the High Court. After reviewing it, the court raised certain doubts. As VSSC was unable to provide clear answers, it was decided to conduct fresh tests on the samples.

The confusion in the VSSC report centres on whether the original gold-plated copper sheets were completely removed and replaced with new ones. The report did not give a clear conclusion. In 1998, the UB Group had used mercury to gold-plate the copper sheets of the Sabarimala sanctum. However, the test report found that traces of mercury were almost absent in some of the sheets. Sources said fresh samples will be collected after the temple reopens next week for the monthly pooja.