The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has launched a preliminary inquiry into the installation of a new flagpole at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple in 2017.
Manoj Abraham, director of the VACB, formed a special investigation team (SIT) to conduct a preliminary verification of allegations of corruption, improper accounting and misappropriation of substantial donations, including gold, for the construction of the mast.
The High Court ordered a Vigilance probe and set a 30-day deadline for the agency to submit a preliminary report. The Division Bench asked the VACB to examine whether the episode constituted a cognizable offense warranting registration of a case.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) appointed by the then Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government recommended a new flagpole for the temple. The TDB ordered the installation on the questionable premise that termites had infested the concrete column, which was covered with a gold-plated copper jacket, rendering it unstable.
Subsequently, the TDB obtained ritual permission from the then senior Tantri (head priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru to build a new battalion headquarters. The TDB sought donations for the construction, including gold and cash, through sponsorship directed to the temple coffers through Unnikrishnan Potti, who has now been charged as the prime suspect in the Sabarimala gold theft case.
The TDB’s internal vigilance department later expressed skepticism over whether the temple authorities kept proper records of the donations and conducted a scientific audit to find out how the gold and cash were used for the construction.
Moreover, the vigilance wing also expressed doubts whether the TDB’s decision to gift the Tantra with a gold-plated statue of a horse on the flagpole was against the temple handbook.
In 2025, the High Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Sabarimala gold theft case recovered the statuette from Mr. Rajeevaru’s residence, days after he was produced as an accused in the case.
Several UDF leaders, including then TDB member and Congress leader Ajay Tharayil, welcomed the probe. Denying any wrongdoing, he said the High Court-appointed Amicus Curiae did not fault any of the actions of the then TDB, including the decision to follow the custom of donating an idol on a dismantled baton staff to a senior Tantri.
In an earlier case, the SIT’s crime branch had alleged that Tantri falls under the broad category of a public servant, given that he received honorarium from the TDB.
But Congressional officials said the public will not miss the political optics behind the move. They pointed out that the SIT’s crime branch had summoned UDF convener Adoor Prakash for questioning to push Opposition Leader VD Satheesan’s ‘Puthuyuga Yatra’ out of the news.
The LDF claimed that the investigations were impartial and were being monitored by the high court.
Published – 10 Feb 2026 21:44 IST