Overview
- The Special Investigation Team submitted a progress report on Monday that included the CSIR‑NML report, which the court said, together with an earlier VSSC report, clarifies the likely method used to remove gold from Sabarimala artefacts.
- The High Court granted the SIT permission to dismantle the Prabhamandalam plates and the upper‑side door frame and to collect samples with expert help for laboratory analysis to quantify gold loss.
- The SIT alleges that a Chennai contractor, Smart Creations, used a specialised chemical called a “stripping salt” in 2019 to remove gold cladding and that a sample of this substance has been sent to NML for testing.
- Investigators have examined 408 witnesses, seized multiple hard disks from temple records that have been sent to the Kerala State Forensic Science Laboratory, and told the court the probe into the 2025 Dwarapalaka removal is substantially complete with a further update due on June 18.
- All accused in the related cases remain out on bail, the government has appealed to cancel the temple chief priest’s bail, and the pending forensic reports are likely to determine who is formally charged and how prosecutions proceed.