Thiruvananthapuram: Questions are mounting over the role of Unnikrishnan Potti in the Sabarimala gold plate controversy. The Kerala High Court recently asked the Travancore Devaswom Board: “Who is Unnikrishnan Potti? How can the Board give gold plates to someone unknown?”

Potti, whose name has surfaced in connection with the scandal, returned to his home in Karettu Pulimath, Thiruvananthapuram by Thursday noon, amidst the controversy. “I do not wish to speak to the media. I will say everything in front of the police and the court. I am saddened that things have taken a wrong turn. It is now my duty to bring out the truth,” he said.

A new name has emerged in connection with Potti, with reports saying he was accompanied by Ananthasubramanyam when the plates were received. There are also doubts that the plates were copper.

Meanwhile, vigilance officials at Sabarimala recovered a missing gold pedestal, designed for the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) sculptures, from the house of a relative of the sponsor who had reported it.

The pedestal’s disappearance was first flagged when the sponsor claimed it was missing during a court-ordered probe into discrepancies in the Sabarimala gold-plating project.