Overview

• ADGP H. Venkatesh will head the court‑monitored Special Investigation Team, with IPS officer S. Sasidharan leading the probe under strict no‑leak directions.
• The investigation centers on a recorded reduction of about 4.5 kg when the Dwarapalaka coverings were replated in 2019 after being taken to a Chennai firm by sponsor Unnikrishnan Potti.
• A United Breweries letter confirms 1.564 kg of gold was used for the two Dwarapalakas in 1999, contradicting later records that described them as copper and prompting the court to flag possible theft, misappropriation and breach of trust involving officials.
• Devaswom Vigilance has submitted an interim report citing prima facie misappropriation, and a separate court‑supervised inventory of temple valuables is underway under retired Justice K. T. Sankaran.
• The Travancore Devaswom Board suspended deputy commissioner B. Murari Babu for mislabeling the coverings as copper in 2019, as the Kerala Assembly saw fresh disruptions with opposition demands for resignations and a central probe.