No accounting or register for Sabarimala gold, stored in sacks; extremely serious lapses from Devaswom

KOCHI: The gold and other valuables offered by devotees at Sabarimala are being kept in sacks in strong rooms without any accounting or register. The High Court has given strict instructions to conduct an inspection of the strong rooms and prepare a list. The court has appointed retired High Court judge Justice KT Sankaran to supervise the inventory.

The inventory should be done with the help of jewelry experts. The report should be submitted to the High Court. The interim order of the Devaswom bench comprising Justice V Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice KV Jayakumar pointed out that the inventory is long overdue. The Court criticized the Devaswom Board for its serious shortcomings and stated that the system has failed. The Court was considering the suo motu case regarding the removal of the Dwarapalaka sculptures and pedestals without prior permission and taking them to Chennai for repairs. The Devaswom Vigilance informed the court about the preliminary investigation. The Vigilance clarified that the information regarding the ornaments and gold coins given by the devotees is in the register. These are kept in lockers and sacks in the strong room. However, the register does not contain information about the flagpole, Dwarapalaka sculptures and pedestals. The records also do not indicate how much gold was used to decorate the roof and other parts of the shrine in 1999. It was learned from the masons that more than 30 kg of gold was used.

Sculpture and pedestal not in strong room

1. The Vigilance said that the old Dwarapalaka sculptures and pedestal mentioned in the sponsor's email in the gold panel case could not be found in the strong room. There is no information about this in the register
2. The court said that the Devaswom officials handled the matter lightly. The fact that the pedestals were found in the sponsor's sister's house is proof of this.

From gems to diamonds

Devotees offer items including crowns studded with gems and diamonds, ornaments, gold and silver bars. The rule is that the offerings should be valued, insured and transferred to the strong rooms within seven days. The valuation should be done in the presence of the Assistant Engineer, Vigilance Officers and Administrative Officer. The Devaswom Board has 16 strong rooms.