The Vigilance Department, which is probing the alleged misappropriation of gold and money in connection with the installation of a new temple flagpole at the Sabarimala shrine in 2017, has started recording the statements of sponsors, including film personalities, officials said on Sunday.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) launched a preliminary inquiry last week on the direction of the Kerala High Court following a Devaswom Vigilance report into alleged embezzlement related to the temple flagpole project.
VACB sources said 27 people have been identified who sponsored gold on the flagpole in 2017.
The statements of about 10 people, including filmmaker Shaji Kailas, actor-screenwriter Renji Panicker and producer Suresh Kumar, have already been recorded, the official said.
The remaining sponsors, including MP Suresh Gopi and actor Mohanlal, will be questioned after agreeing on a suitable time, they added.
The VACB team is collecting details regarding the amount of gold donated by each sponsor for the flagpole project in 2017, officials said.
The VACB is also looking into whether multiple sponsors have donated gold or money to the flagpole.
On February 9, the Kerala High Court gave the VACB 30 days to complete its investigation and submit its report.
A report submitted to the High Court by the Senior Vigilance Officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) said that in August 2016, it was decided that the installation of the new flagpole would be done solely at the cost of Phoenix Infrastructure Pvt Ltd., Hyderabad.
An estimate of ₹ 3.20 crore submitted by Chief Engineer Devaswa was approved by the board on September 23, 2016, the report said.
The report further revealed that on March 22, 2017, 9.161 kilograms of gold was purchased from the customs department and devotees contributed 412 grams of gold to the project.
“Thus, the total amount of gold available, including purchase and gifts by the customs authorities, was 9,573,010 grams, while the amount recorded as used for the flagpole was 9,340,200 grams,” the high court said.
The court also noted that the absence of confirmation from individual donors deprived the donor of documentary evidence of accounting, which constitutes a serious procedural error and a serious violation of Devaswom rules and financial accountability norms.
The probe is being conducted by a team led by VACB Special Investigation Unit-1 SP CS Hari.
The case will be registered on the direction of the Kerala High Court after completion of preliminary investigation and submission of report, officials added.
Published – 15 Feb 2026 20:32 IST