Former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P.S. Prasanth was taken into custody from his residence in the state capital following the Kerala High Court’s directive to expedite the Sabarimala gold misappropriation probe. Two former TDB presidents, both CPI(M) leaders, who were arrested and jailed, are now out on bail. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) informed the court that the final report in one of the cases would be filed within 30 days, citing scientific examination of temple artefacts to establish the alleged offence.
The court has scheduled the matter for September 3, and the SIT is contemplating registering a third case. Prasanth, a former Congress leader who later joined the CPI(M) after the 2021 Assembly elections, served as the TDB president. The SIT has initiated two separate cases concerning the disappearance and misappropriation of gold from temple artefacts. Several accused individuals were arrested but later obtained statutory bail due to the agency’s failure to file charge sheets within the stipulated period.
Investigators are expected to apprehend two more members of the administrative team under Prasanth. The controversy arose during Prasanth’s tenure over the restoration of the temple’s Dwarapalaka sculptures, leading to his multiple interrogations by the SIT. Prior to his arrest, Prasanth claimed on Facebook that he was being targeted for exposing the alleged 2019 gold theft, denying any wrongdoing. He defended the decision to send the sculptures for restoration to remove ritual impurity caused by damaged sculptures.
Prasanth emphasized that the Devaswom did not incur any loss and asserted that the weight and gold content of the sculptures increased after reinstallation. He refuted conspiracy allegations, attributing the failure to inform the Special Commissioner before shifting the sculptures to an administrative lapse. Prasanth highlighted that his Board submitted the 2019 records to the High Court and provided all documents requested by the SIT, leading to the revelation of the alleged gold scam.
