THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The group behind the Sabarimala gold heist is believed to have siphoned off more than 275 sovereigns of gold by pretending to regild the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door.

Back in 1998, industrialist Vijay Mallya funded the gold-plating of the Sreekovil door, using over 2.5 kg of gold. In 2019, Unnikrishnan Potty replaced this door, claiming the old one had lost its shine and was damaged by rats. However, investigators say the new door contains only about 40 sovereigns of gold, indicating that gold worth several crores may have been stolen

A total of 30.291 kilograms of gold had been used for gold-plating different parts of the Sreekovil structure. Cases have been registered for stealing gold layers from the Dwarapalaka sculptures and from the thick wooden frame of t

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