The investigation is continuing to trace the remaining missing gold, the SIT said in its custody application filed before the court.
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the gold smuggling case has told the court that the gold looted from Sabarimala has not been recovered and that the quantity produced by the accused is far less than what was actually stolen.
The suspicion was stated in an application filed by the SIT before the Kollam Vigilance Court seeking custody of accused Unnikrishnan Potty, Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari and jeweller Govardhan Roddam.
Also Read
In its submission, the SIT said it has not been established that the gold produced by the prime accused, Pankaj Bhandari and Govardhan, was part of the gold taken from Sabarimala. The report notes that while both accused handed over some gold to the investigators, a much larger quantity remains missing.
The investigation is continuing to trace the remaining missing gold, the SIT said in its custody application filed before the court.
According to the SIT, gold-clad copper plates, including those from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols, plates from two nearby pillars and seven plates from the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), were removed and taken for replating.
The seven plates from the Sreekovil doorframes included two plates depicting the Dasavatar, two bearing rashi symbols, two plates on the upper portion of the doorframes, and one plate on the Prabha Mandalam above the doorframe, which had idols of Siva and Vyali sculpted on it, the application said.
In the custody application, the SIT said Bhandari confessed that around 109.243 grams of gold was taken by him as fees for replating.
On October 25, 2025, Bhandari produced 109.243 grams of gold before the SIT, claiming it was equivalent to what he had taken as fees in 2019.
The gold recovered during the plating process was handed over to Govardhan, the SIT said.
On October 24, 2025, Govardhan produced 474.960 grams of gold before the SIT, claiming it was equivalent to the quantity he received from Potty after electroplating.
However, the SIT said further investigation revealed that there was more gold in the gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka idols, pillars and Sreekovil doorframes than the quantity produced by Bhandari and Govardhan.
The SIT said the report of scientific analysis of samples of plated gold on copper plates sent to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, is awaited.
The SIT jointly questioned Unnikrishnan Potti, Pankaj Bhandari and Govardhan on Wednesday. Further details related to the gold theft were included in the custody application seeking continued custody of the accused.
Published: 01 Jan 2026, 05:17 pm IST
Related Topics
Disclaimer: Kindly avoid objectionable, derogatory, unlawful and lewd comments, while responding to reports. Such comments are punishable under cyber laws. Please keep away from personal attacks. The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of readers and not that of Mathrubhumi.