The Kerala High Court on Monday (October 6, 2025) directed the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged irregularities that led to reduction in the weight of gold-clad copper coverings of the Dwarapalaka idols at Sabarimala temple by over 4 kg since 2019.

The SIT would be led by S. Sasidharan, SP of Crime Branch, under the supervision of H. Venkitesh, Additional DGP. Cyber Police personnel too would be part of the team.

The direction to form the SIT was passed by a Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar after the Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) Vigilance wing submitted an interim report on the matter. The Vigilance personnel had probed the reduction in weight of the idols after they were sent to a private firm in Chennai for el

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