KOCHI: The report submitted by the chief vigilance officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to the High Court on Friday regarding the missing gold-cladded panels at Sabarimala flags lapses on the part of nine staffers, including a former devaswom commissioner, which indicates that these officials will have to face investigation. The special investigation team will probe the role of all, including thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, the then melsanthi V N Vasudevan Namboothiri and administrative officer Murari Babu, who signed the mahazar dated May 18, 2019, that mentioned the gold cladded door frames as mere ‘copper plates’.
The order issued by the HC says: “the gold-clad copper plates covering the door frames require gold plating, and specifically records that the copper plates were earlier gold-clad. The executive officer requested that orders be issued to hand over the door frames to Unnikrishnan Potti.
But the devaswom commissioner in his communication dated March 6, 2019, recommended to the TDB that the copper plates be handed over to Potti. The items were described merely as ‘copper plates,’ contrary to the executive officer’s description of the items as “gold-clad copper plates.”
As a result, in the board decision also the door frames are referred to as ‘copper plates’. The court observed that this discrepancy is a matter of serious gravity. Prima facie, serious lapses and derelictions on the part of board officials are apparent and this warrants thorough investigation on all aspects and fronts. Pursuant to the board’s decision, the TDB issued an order directing the handing over of the “copper plates” covering the side frames to Unnikrishnan Potti.
The mahazar dated May 18, 2019, was signed by Kantararu Rajeevaru, Vasudevan Namboothiri, watcher S Jayakumar, guard P J Rajeesh, assistant engineer Sunil Kumar K, administrative officer B Murari Babu, H A R Shankaranarayanan, smith V M Kumar, LDC R Bijumon, and AEO D Jayakumar.
According to former director general of prosecution Advocate T Asaf Ali, the charges against the thantri, melsanthi and officials are serious as they had changed the description of the panels with a deceitful intention to cause undue gain. “The charges may include theft, criminal breach of trust, entrustment of articles with bona fide intention and making the property for their own use contrary to the stipulations contained at the time of entrustment,” he said.