The Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, 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 Union Minister Suresh Gopi’s statement here, officials said on Monday.
Gopi was among 27 people who donated gold and money for the temple’s flagstaff in 2017.
VACB sources said his statement was recorded in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday to determine the amount of gold donated by sponsors, who include film personalities.
Earlier, the VACB recorded the statements of director Shaji Kailas, actor-writer Renji Panicker and producer Suresh Kumar.
Actor Mohanlal’s statement will also be recorded soon.
VACB sources said that data of about 20 people have been registered so far, and the remaining donors will submit their data on dates that suit them.
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.
The investigation is being conducted by a team led by Special Investigation Unit VACB-1 SP CS Hari.
The case will be registered under the direction of the Kerala High Court after completion of the preliminary investigation and submission of the report, the officials added.
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