Thiruvananthapuram, Oct. 9 -- The controversy surrounding the alleged theft and substitution of gold claddings at the famed Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple has taken a new turn, with S. J. R. Kumar, National Chairman of the Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajam (SASS) on Wednesday, urging the Kerala government to hand over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
In a detailed letter to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Kumar alleged that the gold-plated copper claddings originally donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998 were misappropriated under the pretext of renovation works.
He claimed that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) had entrusted the restoration to a private Chennai-based firm, Smart Creations, wh...