The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has officially entered the fray in the Sabarimala gold loss scandal, filing a money laundering case on Friday that adds a new layer of federal heat to an already explosive situation. The agency’s Kochi zonal office registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the PMLA, following a green light from the Kerala High Court back in December. This court order effectively brushed aside objections from the state's Special Investigation Team (SIT), which had been reluctant to share its findings with the central agency.
The case centres on a massive breach of trust at the Lord Ayyappa shrine, involving the "disappearance" of gold from the copper plates cladding the sanctum sanctorum’s door frames and the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols. So far, the state’s SIT has arrested 11 people, but it’s the high-profile nature of the detainees that has kept the state on edge. Among those currently in custody are the temple’s chief priest, Kandararu Rajeevaru, former Travancore Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar, and the alleged mastermind, Bengaluru businessman Unnikrishnan Potty.
According to the SIT’s briefing to the High Court, the scam wasn't just a one-off theft but a deeply rooted conspiracy involving "serious official misconduct." Investigators claim Devaswom officials bypassed standard protocols to hand over sacred plates to Potty and a Chennai-based firm, Smart Creations, which was tasked with electroplating. The SIT alleges this was part of a much larger "organised crime" aimed at eventually dismantling and stripping gold from other parts of the Sreekovil as well.
With the ED now taking over the financial trail, the focus shifts to the "proceeds of crime." Federal investigators are expected to start questioning the accused shortly, with the power to freeze and attach assets if they find that wealth was generated through the misappropriation of the temple’s gold. As the state SIT continues its criminal probe, the ED’s involvement ensures that the financial underpinnings of this "spiritual heist" will be scrutinised under a federal lens.
Also read: Four Sabarimala pilgrims die in road accident
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