ON JANUARY 5, after wrapping up the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s Lakshya Leadership Summit in Wayanad, All India Congress Committee general secretary K.C. Venugopal’s first comment was not about the party nor about its electoral plans. “The Marxist government has created a situation in which people neither fear God nor have faith, and plunder God’s property,” he said. The statement was timely in the wake of a Supreme Court remark—“You did not even spare God”—in the Sabarimala gold theft case and an indicator of the narrative that will dominate the upcoming assembly poll campaign.
The special investigation team has so far arrested nine people, including CPI(M) leader and former Travancore Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar. It has questioned former devaswom minister and CPI(M) leader Kadakampally Surendran, examined 181 witnesses and concluded that the alleged offences span from 1998, when gold-cladding was first carried out by the UB Group, to September 2025, when the dwarapalaka idols were sent for re-plating. Crucially, scientific tests are under way at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre to determine whether original gold plates were replaced or misappropriated.
On January 5, while granting a six-week extension to complete the probe, the Kerala High Court clarified that the SIT’s current focus on transactions forming the subject matter of the case does not mean the remaining aspects will escape scrutiny. Notably, the extended timeline means the SIT is likely to submit its final report right when the state begins to feel the heat of the assembly elections.
On December 30, while moving a custody application for main accused Unnikrishnan Potty and others, the SIT said that more gold had been stolen than what was initially believed. It also said it had proof that two of the accused—Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Chennai-based Smart Creations (contracted for electroplating and re-plating), and Roddam Govardhan, a Karnataka-based jeweller—were in possession of gold separated from the Sabarimala artefacts.
However, Prakash Panicker of the Thattavila Vishwakarma family (his grandfather sculpted the idol of Lord Ayyappa) theorised that the recovered gold could be from a different source. “You would have to [chemically process] kilos of material to extract a few grams of gold,” he told THE WEEK. “These were gold-plated artefacts (post 2019), with a minimal amount of gold.” Panicker suggested that different parts of the artefacts may have been smuggled across the world, given their immense faith-related value, and added that the role of Sabarimala priests should be investigated.
T. Asaf Ali, former director general of prosecutions, said that the Kerala Police had constraints in handling this investigation as, despite court oversight, there is scope for political interference. “There may be honest officers, but ruling-party interference and patronage are high,” he said.
The Congress had opposed the addition of two officers to the SIT, alleging they were sympathetic to the CPI(M). The High Court considered these objections, but the SIT vouched for the two officers.
During the campaign for the local body polls at the end of 2025, the Congress-led opposition had alleged that the chief minister’s office was pressuring the SIT to delay the questioning and arrest of key CPI(M) leaders. The party claimed that subsequent court observations vindicated these allegations. The opposition had also alleged foul play in the SIT’s questioning of Surendran and claimed that CPI(M) leaders jailed in connection with the case were being shielded.
The BJP has long been arguing for a central investigation. Now, the Enforcement Directorate has received approval to register a PMLA case.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M)-led LDF has anchored its defence on two claims: the state government has not interfered in the investigation and links to Potty are not confined to LDF leaders. The CPI(M) circulated a photo of Potty with Sonia Gandhi, and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan name-checked UDF convener Adoor Prakash and Congress MP Anto Antony for alleged links to Potty. The Congress countered with photos of Potty with Vijayan and other CPI(M) leaders.
The LDF has also argued that the TDB is autonomous. But, Ali said the autonomy was limited to day-to-day, non-policy matters at temples under its jurisdiction. “If the board were truly a fully autonomous body, there would be no need for a devaswom department or minister,” he said. Removing the gold-clad idols from Sabarimala premises, he added, was clearly a major policy decision. “What happened was theft from a place considered sacred by the faithful, and the government is answerable,” he said.
The BJP is framing the issue as proof of a UDF-LDF collaboration. M.T. Ramesh, BJP state general secretary, alleged that prominent leaders from both the parties were involved. The party plans to sharpen its messaging on Makara Sankranti day—January 14. It will light ‘Sabarimala Samrakshana Deepam’ (lamp for the protection of Sabarimala) in homes and key centres across Kerala. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are also expected to raise the issue during visits to the state this month.