Sabarimala gold heist: Kerala High Court permits SIT to conduct scientific tests

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted permission to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct scientific tests at the Sabarimala temple as part of the probe into the loss of gold from the hill shrine.

A division bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar allowed the SIT to conduct the tests on November 17.

Earlier this month, the SIT had sought the court’s permission to conduct scientific examinations of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols to determine the extent of gold loss reported in 2019.

The court then directed the team to weigh the Dwarapalaka idol plates and side pillar plates.

It also instructed the investigators to take a sample of the gold cladding to assess the purity and quality of the plating, measure the surface area of the plates, and collect copper samples from the Dwarapalaka plates and door frames.

These samples, the court said, should be subjected to scientific analyses, including electrical conductivity, spectroscopic, and microstructure examinations.

Initially, the court had ordered the SIT to complete the tests before November 15.

However, when the SIT sought the opinion of the Thantri (chief priest), he said that as per temple rituals, the Deva Anujna (divine permission) of the deity must be obtained before conducting any scientific examination near the sanctum sanctorum.

Following this, it was decided that the tests would be carried out on November 17.

On the basis of the Deva Anujna, to be obtained on November 17, the test be carried out after the Ucha Pooja and the closing of the temple at 1 pm.