Kerala Sabarimala temple Gold-Plating row: Vigilance report exposes Unnikrishnan Potti's dubious dealings, financial irregularities

By H V Nandhakumar
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 12 : Travancore Devaswom Vigilance, in a detailed report submitted to the Kerala High Court, has exposed a web of serious procedural violations, unauthorised interventions, and suspicious financial dealings surrounding the gold plating of the Dwarapalaka idols and copper panels at the Sabarimala Sreekovil temple.
According to the report, Unnikrishnan Potti, who has no stable income or declared business background, acted as an intermediary in several renovation and offering-related works at Sabarimala, despite not being the actual sponsor for many of them. The vigilance findings make it clear that several temple works attributed to Potti were in fact financed by other private individuals, including businessmen from Bellary and Bengaluru.
The report states that the gold plating of the damaged main door of the Sreekovil was sponsored by one Govardhan, a businessman from Bellary, while the plating of the copper sheets on the roof (Kattilla) was funded by Aji Kumar, a Malayali entrepreneur settled in Bengaluru.
"Potti acted merely as a middleman, facilitating the deals and using his proximity to the Devaswom administration to exercise undue influence," the report says.
Further scrutiny of Potti's income tax records confirmed that he had no consistent source of income that could justify the large-scale donations, sponsorships, and renovation works attributed to him. Vigilance investigators concluded that Potti had likely benefited illegally through commissions and possibly misappropriated temple gold during multiple renovation projects.
The report lists several temple activities in which Potti was involved, including annadanam (free feeding), Padipooja, Kalabhabhishekam, and Udayasthamana Pooja, and mentions that he even sponsored the construction of a Mani Mandapam on either side of the Pathinettampadi (18 holy steps).
In 2025, he reportedly contributed ₹6 lakh for annadanam and another ₹10 lakh for Makaravilakku-related activities, in addition to donating ₹10 lakh for the construction of a lift at the Annadanam Mandapam.
The vigilance report, however, stresses that these acts of sponsorship were used as a cover for irregular transactions, citing inconsistencies in records and unexplained movement of gold-plated panels to Chennai and other locations.
In particular, the report refers to the 2019 re-plating project, when panels were taken to Smart Creations, Chennai, without proper authorisation, and a discrepancy of 4.541 kilograms of gold was detected between the dispatch and return measurements.
The report also highlights serious administrative lapses, naming former Administrative Officer Murari Babu, Executive Officer D Sudheesh Kumar, Administrative Officer, and Secretary S Jayashree among those responsible for procedural violations and lack of supervision. It has recommended disciplinary and departmental action against them.
Vigilance investigators found that official documents (mahasars) dated July 19-20, 2019, carried falsified or missing signatures and were prepared by officers who were not present on site. Some Dwarapalaka panels were reportedly stored in Bengaluru and Hyderabad before being returned to Sabarimala on September 11, 2019, raising grave concerns about the chain of custody.
The report further points out that outsourcing gold-plating works to external facilities violated Rule 38 (Vol I, Chapter XI) of the Travancore Devaswom Manual, which mandates that all works involving precious metals must be carried out within temple premises under official supervision.
The vigilance findings have recommended a forensic audit of all gold-related temple works, recovery of losses from responsible individuals, and immediate tightening of supervisory mechanisms to prevent similar misuse.
The report also urges the Travancore Devaswom Board to forward the findings to law enforcement agencies for further action.
The Kerala High Court is expected to review the vigilance report soon.