Kerala: BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar seeks Amit Shah's intervention over alleged "Corruption" in temples, including Sabarimala

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 22 (ANI): Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking a probe by a central agency into the alleged "corruption, misappropriation, and violations" in Kerala temples, including the Sabarimala Temple, managed by Devaswom Boards.
Chandrasekhar also requested the Union Home Minister to direct a thorough audit of all Devaswom Boards by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, with the findings to be published in the public domain to identify those who have "committed crimes in our temples and enable their prosecution."
"Since the Kerala Police comes under the direct control of the Home Minister, who is also the Chief Minister, in light of the fact that the Chief Minister has publicly already declared that it is only a slip up in the court in an effort to influence the outcome of the investigation, people have no confidence in any Kerala Police Investigation of these crimes," Chandrasekhar wrote.
He requested Shah to "instruct a central agency to investigate the last 30 years of transactions in Devaswom Boards and temples under its jurisdiction, in light of these recent reported crimes."

The Kerala BJP Chief pointed out that the state government, through their appointed Devaswom Boards, is responsible and accountable for the safety and upkeep of all Hindu places of worship currently under the Devaswom Boards.
"It is in this context that I draw your attention to shocking recent disclosures of gold theft from our sacred Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple," Chandrasekhar wrote.
"These revelations have been followed by similar stories of theft of land and gold belonging to other temples under Devaswom Boards across the country. These disclosures, which have come to light through vigilant judicial scrutiny and media reports, include grave instances of fraud in gold-plating works, unexplained shortfalls in gold quantities and systemic malfeasance within the Travancore Devaswom," he added.
He said that these disclosures, which have come to light through vigilant judicial scrutiny and media reports, include grave instances of fraud in gold-plating works, unexplained shortfalls in gold quantities and systemic malfeasance within the Travancore Devaswom.
"The Hon'ble Kerala High Court, having taken Suo-motu cognizance of these matters (In Re. Irregularities at Sabarimala, SSCR No.23 of 2025) on 9th September, 2025, has already directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the discrepancies, including the unauthorized removal and restoration of gold-plated artefacts without proper oversight," he said.
"These developments, as detailed in the court's orders and the Devaswom Vigilance report, raise serious larger questions about the corruption and negligence going back several decades in the temples under the Devaswom Board. It is imperative that swift and decisive action be taken to restore confidence amongst our believers and prevent further desecration of our sacred temples," he added.
Earlier, on October 17, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Kerala High Court arrested Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case.
Unnikrishnan Potti's arrest pertains to the theft of gold plating from the sanctum's wooden panels and the Dwarapalaka (door guardian) sculptures at Sabarimala temple.
Potti has been remanded to police custody until October 30.
Earlier, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president, P.S. Prasanth, suspended Assistant Engineer K Sunil Kumar for his alleged involvement in the Sabarimala gold theft case. Kumar has been named as an accused in the case.
Prasanth stated that retired officers involved in the gold-plating controversy will receive a show-cause notice, with a 10-day time frame to respond. (ANI)