Thiruvananthapuram: Approximately 13 sovereigns of gold (107 grams), taken from the strong room of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple here for gold plating the sanctum sanctorum door, have gone missing. The gold, stored in the form of rods, was part of the stock regularly used for the ongoing work.

According to officials, one of the gold rods was found missing on Saturday morning when the stock was reopened to resume the plating work. Despite an extensive search conducted throughout the day by temple security personnel and police officers, the missing gold could not be traced. The temple’s executive officer has since lodged a formal complaint with the Fort Police.

The gold plating work on the door of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, where the idol of Sree Padmanabhaswamy-- the principal deity is installed, has been underway for the past few months. As per the standard procedure, gold is taken out daily from the strong room in the presence of both police and temple officials. After each day’s work, the remaining gold is returned to the strong room under supervision.

The last plating session was carried out on Wednesday. The loss, however, came to light only on Saturday morning when officials accessed the gold stock that had been secured after Wednesday’s work.

The plating work is being carried out at the Ottakkal Mandapam, the stone pavilion in front of the sanctum sanctorum. Due to the low lighting in the area, officials initially suspected that the missing rod might have accidentally fallen and launched an extensive search. Police have also begun examining CCTV footage from the premises as part of their investigation.

In October last year, a vintage brass cauldron called ‘Thalipaathram’ also went missing from the temple. A verification of the CCTV footage later showed that the vessel had been taken along with other items by a man from Haryana. Though he was initially taken into custody on suspicion of theft, he was later released after it was confirmed to be a misunderstanding.