PATHANAMTHITTA: A fresh controversy has surfaced in connection with the alleged Sabarimala gold plating irregularities after District Congress Committee vice president Vettoor Jyothi Prasad sought an investigation into the role of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) member P D Santhosh Kumar in the decision to send gold-plated sheets from the shrine for re-plating.
In a complaint submitted to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) chief, Jyothi alleged that the decision to send the gold sheets to a Chennai-based firm for gold plating in September 2025 was taken by the then Travancore Devaswom Board headed by president P S Prasanth. He claimed that Santhosh, who was a board member at the time, had participated in meetings related to the decision and sought an inquiry into his role as part of the ongoing investigation.
The complaint also called for an examination of the financial sources of the personal staff attached to the then Devaswom Board president and members during the period under scrutiny. It requested that vigilance authorities verify the records and, if warranted, bring the matter within the ambit of the SIT probe.’
Following this, Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan wrote to the SIT seeking a probe into complaints. He had reportedly called for a probe into various allegations linked to the former TDB.
Responding to the development, Santhosh told the media that he had no role in the matter. Rejecting the allegations, he said he had not attended the meeting in which the decision to send the sheets for re-plating was taken.
He claimed that the controversy stemmed from his opposition to certain transfer demands raised during a meeting held on May 16.
He said the representatives affiliated with Congress-backed organisations had sought postings in major temples during discussions on the transfer of assistant commissioners and administrative officials. “As the CPM representative on the board, I opposed these demands. Following this, they met the minister and misled him,” Santhosh alleged.
