Sabarimala gold heist probe widens to temple staff: Report
Sabarimala temple staff are under investigation after a report flagged suspicious money transfers totaling ₹14.08 lakh during the 2025-26 pilgrimage season.
Five employees sent unusually large amounts, and one transferred ₹1.38 lakh from Pathanamthitta.
The case also digs into an earlier incident where gold vanished during repairs of the temple's sacred door frames and idols.
ED summons actor Jayaram
The Travancore Devaswom Board is filing a police complaint, while a Special Investigation Team just collected fresh gold samples from the temple on February 12 for advanced lab testing—the Kerala High Court directed the SIT to file a report by February 19 detailing the samples collected and the agencies entrusted with analysis.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate is checking if there was money laundering, and has issued a summons to actor Jayaram to record his statement; the SIT had earlier categorized him as a witness linked to Unnikrishnan Potti, who sponsored the repairs.
So far, 11 people have been arrested—including ex-Devaswom president N. Vasu and Potti—with charges ranging from criminal conspiracy to breach of trust.