KOLLAM: The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) on Friday filed before the Kollam Vigilance court its findings on the chemical analysis tests conducted on samples drawn from Sabarimala artefacts, which are expected to reveal whether the gilded sheets currently being housed in the temple is a replica of the original material gifted by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998.
The report is also expected to help ascertain the quantity of gold that could have been extracted from the copper sheets during electroplating at the Smart Creations in Chennai. The report would help the special investigation team to make a headway in the case as it’s yet to identify the quantity and the fate of the gold that has been reported missing from the door frames and Dwarapalaka idols of the temple.
The VSSC was handed over the task by the SIT to conduct a scientific test to quantify the lost gold and to check if the original gold-clad copper plates were later swapped with a replica.