Sabarimala gold theft: Prasanth, Ajikumar questioned again

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has again questioned former Devaswom Board president P S Prasanth and former board member A Ajikumar in connection with the 2025 incident of taking gold-plated sheets out of Sabarimala Temple.

This is the third time both have been called to the SIT headquarters for questioning. The move comes ahead of filing the charge sheet. Prasanth said the SIT only collected more details during the questioning. The gold-plated sheets were taken out of Sabarimala without the permission of the Special Commissioner or the Devaswom Bench of the High Court. They were handed over to the sponsor Unnikrishnan Potty for gold plating.

Earlier, Prasanth had expressed regret before the High Court for allowing the sheets to be taken out without proper approval. During questioning, the SIT focused on the circumstances under which permission was given to remove the gold sheets. It also examined why approval was granted without informing the Special Commissioner, the role of Smart Creations, and the board’s decision behind giving such permission.

The SIT had also found that Ajikumar had a close friendship with Unnikrishnan Potty. He was questioned regarding this link.

Scientific test results expected soon
The SIT expects to receive the scientific test results of the gold sheets by the end of April. The Jamshedpur Metallurgical Laboratory has informed this to the SIT, which was also reported to the High Court. Only after receiving these results will the extent of irregularities in the 2019 gold plating process become clear. The main aim is to find out how much gold may have been misused or lost. The High Court has given the SIT time until May 18 to complete the investigation. Once the test results are received, the SIT will proceed with preparing the final charge sheet.