Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Thursday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the discrepancies surrounding the removal of gold-clad copper coverings from the Dwarapalaka idols in front of the Sanctum Sanctorum at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple.

The move comes in response to a Kerala High Court directive issued on Monday, which ordered a thorough investigation into the incident by a special team.

The SIT will be headed by ADGP H Venkatesh (Crime Branch & Law and Order), with the investigation led by S Sasidharan IPS, Assistant Director (Administration) at KEPA, Thrissur, under the ADGP's supervision.

The team also includes Inspector Aneesh (Vakathanam Police Station, Kottayam), Inspector Biju Radhakrishnan (Kaippamangalam Police Station, Thrissur Rural), and Assistant Sub-Inspector Sunil Kumar (Cyber Police Station, Thycadu, Thiruvananthapuram).

Earlier, the court took notice of the alleged weight loss when considering a suo motu case initiated based on a report by the Special Commissioner, which stated that the gold-clad copper covering of the Dwarapalaka idols and the peedam (pedestal) on which the idols were fixed had been removed without prior intimation.

The Travancore Core Devaswom Board (TDB) had sent the items to Smart Creations in Chennai for electroplating with sponsorship from devotee Unnikrishnan Potty.

During the hearing, the Division Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K V Jayakumar noted a decrease in the weight of the gold by around 4kg, after the idols were handed over to Smart Creations on an earlier occasion in 2019.