New and shocking details have emerged in the Sabarimala gold plating controversy related to the Dwarapalaka sculptures. According to a statement given by Pankaj Bhandari, the owner of Smart Creations, the company responsible for the gold plating, nearly 1 kg of gold was extracted by dissolving the original gold-coated copper sheets in nitric acid.

Bhandari claimed in his statement to the Devaswom Vigilance that Unnikrishnan Potti brought the gold-coated sheets to Smart Creations in 2019. Following his instructions, the sheets were dissolved in nitric acid to separate the gold. From this, 1 kilogram of gold was recovered, of which 420 grams were handed over to Potti, 320 grams were retained by the company as labour charges, and the remaining gold was used to coat new copper sheets.

Why are authorities doubting the statement?

Despite the detailed account, authorities remain highly sceptical of Bhandari’s statement. Suspicion deepened after Unnikrishnan Potti disappeared from Thiruvananthapuram soon after the Kerala High Court appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the issue. Investigators believe he may have fled to Chennai and possibly discussed with Smart Creations after the SIT was formed.

Investigators also questioned why the original sheets remained in Potti’s custody in Bengaluru for 39 days if the process was as straightforward as described in the statement.

How did gold-tampering come to light?

The controversy first came to light when it was revealed that the original Dwarapalaka copper sheets were taken to Chennai for gold plating without informing the Sabarimala Devaswom Commissioner or obtaining permission from the Kerala High Court.

Following this, the court ordered a detailed probe, directing the Devaswom Vigilance Department to investigate the matter.