Sabarimala gold scam: Former Devaswom Board president PS Prashanth taken into custody

Thiruvananthapuram: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold scam took former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth into custody on Thursday.

Prasanth is alleged to have played a key role in the decision to transfer gold-plated panels from the Sabarimala temple to Chennai-based Smart Creations for repair in September 2025.

Last month, Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan, in a letter to the SIT, sought investigation into the role of certain former TDB members in connection with the transfer of the gold sheets.

According to the minister, the decision to send the gold panels to Chennai was taken during Prasanth's tenure as TDB president. He also alleged that board member P D Santosh Kumar attended the meeting in which the board approved the transfer.

Responding to the arrest, Muraleedharan said the government would decide on further action after the SIT files its chargesheet. "The investigation is progressing too slowly. Once the chargesheet is filed, we will take the necessary action," he told reporters.

The minister also said the government would inform the Kerala High Court of its dissatisfaction with the pace of the investigation. "The High Court earlier expressed its satisfaction with the progress of the probe. We expect the chargesheet to be filed by the end of this month. Only after evaluating that the government will decide on the next course of action," he added.

The gold-plated panels were shifted to Chennai in September 2025 for repair and restoration work.

The SIT was constituted by the Kerala government on the directions of the High Court following allegations of theft of gold from the Sabarimala shrine.