The VACB, which is probing the alleged misappropriation of gold and money in connection with the installation of a new temple flagpole at the Sabarimala shrine in 2017, has recorded the statements of film stars Mohanlal and Dileep, officials said on Friday.
Both the actors were among the 27 people who donated gold and money for the temple’s flagstaff.
Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau sources said that Mohanlal and Dilip had given their statements recently.
A VACB official said Mohanlal’s statement was recorded when the actor was in Thiruvananthapuram.
Dilip’s statement was recorded in Kochi, the official added.
The VACB has so far registered details of 22 people who have donated gold and money to the science centre.
Apart from this, sources said the VACB is also checking whether more people have donated gold or money for the purpose.
Earlier, the VACB recorded the statements of Union Minister Suresh Gopi, director Shaji Kailas, actor-writer Renji Panicker and producer Suresh Kumar.
On February 9, the Kerala High Court gave the VACB 30 days to complete the investigation and submit the report.
A report filed by the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board before the Supreme Court said that in August 2016, it was decided that the installation of the new flagpole would be done entirely at the expense of Phoenix Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad.
Estimate for $The Rs 3.20 crore advance by the Devaswom chief engineer was approved by the board on September 23, 2016, the report said.
The report also revealed that 9,161 kilograms of gold were purchased from the Customs Department on March 22, 2017, and those loyal to the project contributed 412 grams of gold.
“Thus, the total quantity of gold available, including customs purchases and donations, amounted to 9,573.010 grams, while the quantity recorded as being used for the flagstaff amounted to 9,340.200 grams,” the Supreme Court observed.
The court also observed that the absence of receipts from individual donors deprived the donors of documentary evidence of accounting, constituting a serious procedural error and a serious violation of the Devaswom Rules and Financial Accountability Standards.
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