Sabarimala gold crown missing: 55.72-sovereign original replaced with imitation
Thiruvananthapuram: A 55.72-sovereign gold crown kept in the strong room at the Sabarimala temple has gone missing, with the discrepancy confirmed during an inventory of the sacred ornaments.
The crown was donated by devotees from Tamil Nadu in August 2012. Although the donation is recorded in the register, the crown currently kept in the strong room is an imitation one of the same shape and size as the original. It is fitted with white stones resembling diamonds.
The crown weighed 445.78 grams when it was donated. The imitation crown currently in the strong room weighs only 240 grams.
A four-sovereign gold chain has also gone missing from a strong room owned by the Travancore Devaswom Board in Aranmula. In another case, silver horns studded with precious stones have reportedly gone missing from the OTC Hanuman Temple near the Legislative Assembly building in Thiruvananthapuram. Devaswom Board president K Jayakumar has ordered an investigation into the incidents.
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Crown donated by Tamil Nadu devotees in 2012
The crown was offered at Sabarimala by Ayyappa devotees from Tamil Nadu, who were chartered accountants, on August 17, 2012, when the temple opened for the Chingam month. A receipt was issued for the offering.
The crown was taken to the sanctum sanctorum, placed on the idol of Lord Ayyappa and later moved to the strong room at the Sannidhanam.
The strong room does not have CCTV surveillance.
Valuable items received at Sabarimala are supposed to be kept temporarily in the strong room at the Sannidhanam before being transferred to the Devaswom Board’s strong room in Aranmula. However, the gold crown was never moved to Aranmula.
What happened to the original crown will be known only after a detailed investigation.
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Strong room access governed by rules
The Sabarimala administrator and executive officer are appointed for one-year terms. Under the rules, the strong room can be opened only during the daytime.
The key is kept by the administrative officer in charge of the strong room, and the room must be opened in the presence of the executive officer. All activities from the opening to the closing of the strong room must be recorded in the Mahazar (an official record of facts, inspection, or inventory), with the Devaswom guard also required to be present and sign the record.
The inventory of valuable articles at Sabarimala, being conducted under the supervision of Justice K.T. Shankaran, the amicus curiae appointed by the Kerala High Court in connection with the alleged Sabarimala gold theft, is now in its final stage.