After Sabarimala, Guruvayur temple faces scrutiny in Kerala: Audit reveals missing gold, Rs 25 cr discrepancy

Guruvayur temple

After the gold theft case at Kerala’s Sabarimala temple, fresh allegations have emerged from Guruvayur, another of the state’s most revered shrines located in Thrissur.

A 2019 audit of the Guruvayur temple has flagged missing assets, including gold and ivory, which were allegedly handled without proper procedure. The audit also highlighted a financial loss of Rs 79 lakh related to deposits in a gold scheme run by the State Bank of India.

According to the report, several temple assets were unaccounted for. The manchadi, or coral wood tree, seeds for the sack count given by the devotees were missing and saffron flowers were not included in the records. In addition, 2,000 kg of traditional cookware, or Uruli, worth Rs 15 lakh had not been included in calculations. The cookware had been donated by a resident of Palakkad.

The audit also noted that more than 530 kg of ivory from the Punnathur elephant fort could not be accounted for. The Guruvayur Devaswom, a statutory and independent board managing 12 temples in Kerala, said the discrepancies had been resolved and submitted a detailed affidavit to the Kerala High Court.

Also, the 2020-21 audit report found that the total expenditure of the various Devaswom-related establishments, including resthouses, was around Rs 25 crore more than their combined revenue.

The report noted that during the 2020-21 financial year, the temple’s expenditure was three times its income, a situation not seen since 2016-17. In the meantime, the state has clarified that all audit issues have been addressed.

However, the opposition BJP has seized on the report. Party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari termed the findings a “huge insult to Hindu faith by the Left government.”

"After Sabarimala, now Guruvayur Temple, Audit reveals gold missing from temple treasury. Left government's INTENTIONAL negligence and mismanagement of Kerala's revered temples is SHOCKING,” Bhandari said in a post on X.

Sabarimala gold theft

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court has warned that the Sabarimala theft could not be dismissed as an isolated incident, raising suspicions of a larger, well-planned conspiracy. The court has directed a new, independent court-monitored probe to oversee the investigation, bypassing the limitations of the earlier Special Commissioner’s proceedings.

The case relates to the removal of gold plating from the Dwarapalaka idols and side frames of the Sreekovil. Investigators found that the idols were handed to sponsor Unnikrishnan Potti in 2019, even though temple rules mandate that repair work be done inside the shrine.

Officials had incorrectly described the idols as “copper plates,” allowed them to leave the temple, and failed to weigh them upon return.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) reported that Potti retained more than 400 grams of gold from the side frames, seeking permission from the Board to use some for a wedding. In total, nearly 475 grams of gold remain untraced, raising questions about the Board’s oversight.

The High Court observed that these lapses were likely deliberate. Despite complaints of damage and a forty-year warranty, the same sponsor was allowed custody of the idols again in 2025, suggesting an attempt to cover up earlier irregularities.