Sabarimala temple gold crown replaced by imitation

A court-ordered inventory at the Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple has revealed that a gold crown donated in 2012 has been replaced by an imitation. The original crown, weighing 445.78 grams (55.72 sovereigns), was donated by devotees from Tamil Nadu. The imitation currently held in the temple's strongroom weighs only 240 grams and is decorated with white stones meant to resemble diamonds.

The discrepancy was discovered during an audit of the shrine’s sacred ornaments directed by the Kerala High Court and led by amicus curiae Justice KT Sankaran. This audit follows a previous gold theft case at the temple. Investigators noted that the weight difference of approximately 206 grams suggests the original item was swapped rather than lost to wear or measurement error.

In addition to the crown, a four-sovereign gold chain is reported missing from a Travancore Devaswom Board strongroom in Aranmula, and silver horns were reported missing from the OTC Hanuman Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. Devaswom Board president K Jayakumar has ordered an investigation into these incidents. The Sabarimala strongroom where the crown was kept reportedly lacks CCTV surveillance.