Sabarimala gold theft case: SIT defers recording Ramesh Chennithala’s statement

The special investigation team (SIT) appointed by the Kerala High Court, probing the theft of gold-plated copper artefacts from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, has postponed recording the statement of former Kerala Home Minister and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala to an undisclosed date.

The SIT is scheduled to record Mr. Chennithala’s statement at the Kerala Police Crime Branch office at 11 am on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. The MLA office said the SIT contacted them at 10 am and reported that the investigating officer was unwell without citing any reason. The SIT also did not fix a specific date for recording Mr. Chennithala’s statement.

Last week, Mr. Chennithala wrote to H. Venkatesh, Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch and Law and Order, stating that he had credible information about a “global conspiracy” involving international gangs dealing in venerable objects looted from places of religious worship for sale to wealthy collectors.

Mr. Chennithala told reporters that a non-resident Keralite businessman approached him and expressed his willingness to provide more information about the crime to the SIT. He said the industrialists were hesitant to approach the SIT independently and sought its intervention. Mr. Chennithala said the informant had expressed willingness to make a formal statement in front of the camera.

Direct knowledge claims

Mr. Chennithala said the businessman claimed to have direct knowledge that the gilded moldings surrounding the stone carvings, the statues surrounding the entrance to the sanctuary and the knocking on the door of the presiding deity were the result of a deep-rooted conspiracy among Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials, including political appointees and international rackets involved in trading such valuable objects, including antiques.

The SIT will record Mr. Chennithala’s statement under Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), officials said.

Mr. Chennithala’s voluntary statement comes at a time when the SIT is reported to be all set to probe the Supreme Court’s concerns over whether the suspects copied the gilded panels and sold the originals to wealthy collectors.

However, an official said that the gilded panels donated to the temple by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998 were not antiques. But he said the objects have immeasurable identification value, given that devotees identify them with the temple and its religious significance.

He said the gilded moldings shaped to cover the statues and the door generally fall into the category of sacred relics, ornate enclosures of objects of religious value, and are therefore expensive on the international black market for such artifacts. But it has been difficult to trace such objects, which were secretly sold to wealthy collectors, and to return them to the Ayyappa temple.

For example, officials noted that the theft of the ’emerald’ idol Maragatha Lingam from the Adi Sankara Janmabhoomi Temple at Kalady in Ernakulam in 2009 could not be traced despite all efforts of the Kerala Police Temple Theft Special Investigation Team. “Rumors suggest that the theft is linked to international antiquities smugglers. Police estimated that the idol, donated to the temple by the Mysore king in 1910, is at least 500 years old,” he added.

The SIT’s court filings show that the original gilt coverings were either altered, melted or otherwise defaced, officials said. When they were returned to the temple after restoration in 2019, inspectors noticed a decrease in weight. Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) Vigilance review in 2025 revealed that the gold content in the alloy was lower.

The SIT had traced the Chennai-based metal works unit that had contracted prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti to restore the works to their original golden shine.

Also recorded were testimonies from wealthy celebrities who rented panels for private prayers at Mr. Potti’s homes and businesses in 2019.

Meanwhile, Vigilance Investigation Commissioner and Special Judge Kollam will hear the Enforcement Directorate’s request for SIT records to investigate the suspected money laundering aspect in the case.