266 kg gold missing from Kerala temple: Audit report

An audit report submitted to the Supreme Court has revealed pilferage of about 266 kg of gold from the vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple here, reports said.

Quoting portions from the report submitted by former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai, television channels said there were mismatches in the volume of gold taken out of the vault for plating procedures and gold returned after the works.

About 893 kg of gold was taken out of the vault for plating some portions of the temple — the vault was opened 82 times for this purpose — but evaluation of the replaced gold was based entirely on weight and not purity, resulting in a loss of about 266 kg gold, the report said.

The report highlighted flaws in the temple’s accounting systems and discrepancies in use of vessels submitted to the temple as offerings. The audit revealed that of the 82 vessels in gold and studded with precious stones taken out during 2002, four were not returned. The audit of accounts over four years also revealed discrepancies of crores of rupees in accounting of money offered by devotees. The audit team is learnt to have submitted the report earlier this month.

The fresh revelations are expected to trigger more controversies around the temple that has riches with an estimated worth of over Rs 1 lakh crore. Reports from amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium had earlier pointed to pilferage of temple riches and administrative mismanagement that led to a counter-offensive from members of the erstwhile Travancore Royal Family, the trustees of the temple. As the controversies peaked, the Supreme Court appointed a team under Rai to audit the temple’s wealth.