A famed Hindu temple in southern India is embroiled in a scandal after the Kerala high court said there was evidence that some of the idols have been stripped of their gold covering.
Gold and silver plating of idols and temple figurines, mostly paid for by devotees, is common across temples in India. So, the theft at Sabarimala shrine, visited by millions of pilgrims every year, has stunned the devout and made headlines.
The Kerala High Court has set up a special investigation team (SIT), police have begun an inquiry into the disappearance of gold and three people, including a former assistant temple priest, have been arrested.
A two-judge bench that is monitoring the investigation has been holding regular hearings in the case since September and the next sitting is on Wednesday.
The hill shrine, dedicated to Hindu deity Lord Ayyappa, had made headlines a few years back too. The temple bars women of menstruating age and was ordered by the Supreme Court to end this discrimination. But following protests, the court agreed to review its landmark ruling and put it on hold.
The current controversy centres around two idols of Dwarapalakas - or the door guards that stand just outside the sanctum sanctorum where the main deity sits.
The court took up the case in September after a report by the court-appointed Sabarimala Special Commissioner revealed that the idols were stripped of their gold-cladding in many places.
Temple records show that 30.291kg gold - donated by now-disgraced billionaire businessman Vijay Mallya - was used in 1998-99 to carry out gold-cladding on the idols and several parts of the temple, including some pillars, door arches and panels depicting stories of Lord Ayyappa.
The court says that in July 2019, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) that manages the temple allowed the main suspect Unnikrishnan Potty - a former assistant priest at Sabarimala - to take out the idols for fresh gold-cladding.
Two months later when they were brought back, they were not weighed, but the court says that later investigations have revealed they were a lot lighter. Further investigation by the SIT has revealed pilferage also from the pedestals and door frames and the court says that approximately 4.54kg gold has gone missing since 2019.
Mr Potty has been arrested and sent to judicial custody by a magistrate and the BBC has not been able to speak to him. But on his way out from the court after his arrest, he shouted at the throng of waiting reporters that he was being trapped.
The truth will come out. Those who trapped me in this will face the law. Everything will be revealed, he said.
The scandal has also led to a political row in the state with opposition parties holding protests against Kerala's Communist government, resulting in demands for the resignation of the Minister for Temple Affairs.
