I will stay vigilant: Sabarimala's newly elected melsanthi amid gold-plating row

Pathanamthitta: Sabarimala’s newly elected melsanthi (chief priest) Prasad E D on Saturday said he would remain vigilant in the wake of the ongoing controversy over alleged irregularities in the gold plating of the Lord Ayyappa temple.

Prasad, a native of Thrissur, and Manu Namboothiri M G from Kollam were selected as the chief priests of the Sabarimala and Malikappuram temples, respectively, through a traditional draw held at the Sannidhanam (temple complex) earlier in the day.

Speaking to the media after his selection, Prasad said lord Ayyappa was aware of everything that had happened and would ensure a solution.

"Lord Ayyappa knows everything about what happened, and he himself will find a solution. The only thing is that we should always be vigilant. We land in trouble when we over-depend on others for anything. We should stand independent," he said.

The melsanthi-designate added that he would exercise extra caution in view of the current controversies surrounding the hill shrine.

Earlier, expressing joy over his appointment, Prasad said, "I am very happy. Words fail to express my happiness. I cannot ask for anything more." An ardent Ayyappa devotee, Prasad hails from Chalakudy in Thrissur and has been serving as the priest at the Areswaram Dharmasastha Temple for the past three years.

The announcement of the new chief priest came a day after the gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols were reinstalled at the Sabarimala temple as the shrine opened for the Malayalam month of Thulam.

Around 14 gold-plated copper sheets, brought back from Smart Creations in Chennai after electroplating as directed by the Kerala High Court, were reinstalled on Friday by sculptors in the presence of temple priests and Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials, including its president P S Prasanth.

Ironically, the reinstallation coincided with the arrest of businessman Unnikrishnan Potty — who had sponsored the electroplating of the Dwarapalaka plates in 2019 — by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold missing case.

The plates became controversial last month after the TDB removed them for re-plating at Smart Creations without securing the High Court’s permission.

After reviewing documents related to the 2019 electroplating work, the court noted a reduction in gold weight and directed the TDB vigilance wing to conduct a preliminary inquiry.

The vigilance later submitted a report citing serious misappropriation involving Potty and certain TDB officials.

The High Court subsequently appointed retired judge Justice K T Sankaran to prepare an inventory of the gold and other assets of the Sabarimala temple and constituted an SIT, which registered two cases and arrested Potty.