Kasaragod: At a time when the LDF government is under fire over the alleged theft of 4.5 kg of gold from Sabarimala, reportedly in collusion with temple officials, an audit report from another temple in Kasaragod has revealed the disappearance of 14.67 grams of gold.

While the quantity lost from Tryambakeshwara Temple at Trikkannad near Bekal is a fraction of the Sabarimala haul, the inaction of the Malabar Devaswom Board to recover the gold is just as glaring, exposing the same culture of negligence and impunity that has engulfed the state's most famous pilgrim site.

According to the audit report, the gold from the Shiva temple, located on the edge of the Arabian Sea, went missing between 2010 and 2011, when T M Satyanarayanan was the temple's executive officer. "As the custodian of the temple's assets, we hold him accountable for the loss," said V Balakrishnan Nair, chairman of the Chandragiri Sree Sastha & Trikkannad Tryambakeshwara Devaswam, the administrative body of the temple. "We have written to the Malabar Devaswom Board several times to either recover the gold from him or collect its current market value," Nair told Onmanorama on Thursday.

He last wrote to the Malabar Devaswom Board in December 2023. "We can also write to higher authorities. If those entrusted with the temple's protection engage in such actions, it can never be justified," he said.

Unlike in Sabarimala, where gold-plated panels and artefacts were removed under the pretext of restoration and then stripped of their gold, at Trikkannad, the lost gold consisted of small artefacts or jewellery donated by devotees. "The gold received from devotees is stored in the temple's strongroom. There's an entry in the in-register, but it does not appear in the strongroom register," Nair said.

BJP Kozhikode Zonal President K Shreekanth, a resident of Trikkannad, alleged that the Malabar Devaswom Board is not taking action against Satyanarayanan because he is a Left union leader. "Failing to act for years despite being aware of the theft is a serious lapse," he said.

He also demanded that audit reports related to all temples under the Malabar Devaswom Board, particularly regarding income and jewellery received from devotees, be made public.