Thiruvananthapuram: Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, a major pilgrimage centre in Kerala, is caught in a row over an alleged gold heist.

A Bengaluru-based Malayali, his associates, and a few officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) that manages the temple, are accused of looting the precious metal from the temple door frames, constructed with Rs 18 crore funding support from industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998-99. Here is a look at what the controversy is all about.

What was siphoned off from Sabarimala?

Gold coatings of the two 'Dwarapalaka idols' (guardian deities) on either side of the door of the sanctum sanctorum and door frames were found missing. Over 30 kg of 24-carat gold was used for coating the door sculptures carved on copper plates. Of that, around 2 kg were used for plati

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