Miscreants Damage Newly Installed Gold-Covered Mast At Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple

The new golden mast installed at Lord Ayyappa Temple in Kerala’s Sabarimala was found damaged on Sunday, triggering widespread concern among devotees. The teakwood mast, covered using 9.16 kg of gold, 300 kg of copper and 17 kg of silver, was ceremonially installed after purification rituals in the morning.

The inspection of footage from a CCTV camera installed on the Sabarimala temple premises showed three persons pouring a liquid on the base of the newly installed temple mast. The damage was noticed in the afternoon after the rituals were over, temple sources said. Travancore Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan said temple guards had apprehended three persons, including an elderly man in this connection after examining CCTV visuals at the shrine.

The damage was caused due to alleged pouring of mercury on the panjavarga thara of the mast. Five persons from Andhra Pradesh have been arrested in connection with the incident after examination of the CCTV footage. The accused have confessed to the crime, claiming that they did it out of devotion.

The new flag post was donated by a business group from Andhra Pradesh. It reportedly cost Rs 3.5 crore.

With inputs from ANI