Sabarimala gold plating row: Senior official suspended
The Kerala HC has court ordered a comprehensive inventory of all valuables, including gold, at the shrine
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple in Kerala, on Tuesday (October 7) suspended a senior official in connection with the alleged irregularities in gold plating of the temple’s 'Dwarapalaka' idols.
The TDP in a statement issued on Tuesday stated that one B Murari Babu, currently serving as the Deputy Devaswom Commissioner (Haripad), was suspended pending an enquiry.
Babu, while serving as the administrative officer at the hill shrine, committed a "serious lapse" by submitting a report terming copper-plated Dwarapalaka idols as gold-plated, that was found on both sides of the shrine's entrance, to the Sabarimala Executive Officer on July 17, 2019, the statement said.
What suspended officer says
Speaking to reporters in Alappuzha, Babu denied the charges, saying the TDB has yet to seek any explanation from him.
"I had given a preliminary report at that time after seeking the temple tantri’s opinion in accordance with procedures. In that report, I wrote that it was a copper plate… Why did I write like that? Because it was a copper plate. Copper was well clear in that. That’s why it was directed to be plated," he claimed.
SIT by Kerala HC
On Monday, the Kerala High Court directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged irregularities related to the reduced weight of gold-clad copper plates adorning the guardian deity idols at Sabarimala.
The weight reduction came to light during court proceedings on a decision to send the claddings for gold-plating again this year, without informing the High Court.
It was revealed that when the claddings were last removed from the Lord Ayyappa shrine for gold plating in 2019, their weight had decreased by about 4.5 kg, a fact that had not been reported by Devaswom officials.
Last week, the court ordered a comprehensive inventory of all valuables, including gold, at the Sabarimala temple under the supervision of retired Justice K T Sankaran.
(With Agency inputs)