The mystery surrounding the missing golden pedestal of the Dwarapalaka idol at Sabarimala temple just got deeper. Authorities in Thiruvananthapuram recovered the valuable item from the home of sponsor Unnikrishnan’s sister, sparking fresh accusations of a cover-up and demands for a full probe.
Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan called out the strange twist on Monday. Unnikrishnan had reported the pedestal stolen, but it turned up in his relative’s house instead. “This looks highly suspicious,” Vasavan said. “He’s trying to mislead everyone, and we can’t trust his story.” He stressed that the Travancore Devaswom Board will wait for the court’s input before deciding next steps.
The recovery came during a vigilance inquiry by the board into the Sabarimala idol controversy. Vasavan suspects someone hid the pedestal on purpose and then faked the theft report, pointing to a possible conspiracy. “The facts just don’t add up with what Unnikrishnan claims,” he added, while promising full transparency in all temple matters.
Former Travancore Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar, who led during the initial issue, urged the Vigilance Department to dig deeper. “Unnikrishnan and Vasudevan had no real reason to take it, so investigators need to uncover why,” Padmakumar explained. He recalled how a new pedestal didn’t fit the idol properly, so officials returned the original one and should have documented everything.
Padmakumar made it clear that board officials, including the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner, handled all the details back then—he had no personal connection to Unnikrishnan.
For now, the entire Sabarimala golden pedestal case sits with the court, which will review the vigilance report before moving forward. Both the state government and past leaders agree: it’s time for real answers to keep trust in the temple’s sacred affairs.
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