Thiruvananthapuram: The controversy surrounding the door guard (Dwarapalaka) idols’ covers at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam has taken a new turn, with evidence emerging that the covers were, in fact, gold-plated. Mathrubhumi News released images from March 2019 that clearly show the Dwarapalaka idols with a bright, golden covering.
The images were taken when the new gold-plated door was being installed at the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) in March 2019. The pictures show the Dwarapalaka idols on either side of the door radiating a golden sheen. These were the same covers that were gold-plated by Vijay Mallya in 1998. The images suggest that despite being 20 years old, the panels did not appear to need immediate repair and were sparkling like new.
A crucial point of contention is that these seemingly gold-plated covers were handed over to Unnikrishnan Potti just four months later, in July 2019, for replating. However, the Devaswom Board’s letter of authorization to Potti listed them as “12 copper plates.” The discrepancy has raised serious questions about how the gold-plated covers of March could turn into simple copper plates by July.
Adding to the mystery, representatives of the company Smart Creations, where Potti eventually took the panels for gold electroplating after 39 days, claim they received original pure copper sheets. They stated that their electroplating machines cannot be used on old, gold-plated, or tarnished copper; they only use pure copper sheets for plating before sending them back to the temple.
The evidence now suggests two possibilities that require investigation: was Potti handed the gold-plated panels, and were new, different copper panels returned to the temple? Or, were the gold-plated panels replaced with copper ones somewhere in the three months between the photo being taken and the covers being handed over for replating?
