Just as the news of the gold theft in Sabarimala dies down, the temple is back in the news. This time, after a Devaswom Vigilance team arrested two temporary employees of the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple in connection with an alleged theft from the temple hundi, raising serious concerns over internal security and monitoring at one of Kerala’s most sacred shrines.
The accused have been identified as Sunil G Nair (51) and Gopakumar MG (51), both natives of Alappuzha district. They were taken into custody on Wednesday and later remanded to judicial custody.
The theft came to light during a routine vigilance inspection conducted on Tuesday, 13 January 2026, around 1 PM at the Sabarimala sannidhanam. Officials intercepted the two men as they were leaving after completing their duty at the hundi collection point. During the inspection, vigilance officers noticed suspicious behaviour and discovered that the accused were attempting to smuggle out currency notes by concealing them inside their mouths.
Following this, a detailed search was conducted, leading to the recovery of both Indian and foreign currency from their possession. According to Sannidhanam Sub-Inspector Vishnu V, the discovery of currency hidden in their mouths prompted a deeper probe, which revealed a far larger cache.
From Sunil G Nair, officials recovered a €20 note, a Canadian $5 note, and a UAE 50-dirham note during the initial interception. A subsequent search of his accommodation yielded a significant haul, including fifty ₹500 notes, multiple euro-denominated notes (€10, €20, and €50), Myanmar kyat notes, UAE 100-dirham notes, and Omani currency.
From Gopakumar MG, vigilance officials initially recovered Malaysian ringgit notes and a ₹500 note. A search of his bag later led to the seizure of 27 ₹500 notes, additional Indian currency in smaller denominations, Singapore $50 notes, Myanmar kyat notes, UAE dirham notes, a Malaysian ringgit note, and a gold-coloured locket weighing approximately two grams.
After completing the seizures and documentation, the Travancore Devaswom Vigilance officials handed over both accused and the recovered materials to the Sannidhanam police. The duo was produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
Source: OnManorama
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