KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged irregularities related to the reduced weight of gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols at Sabarimala.

A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar ordered the constitution of SIT after the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) Vigilance team submitted an interim report on its preliminary investigation into the matter.

Earlier, the court had directed the TDB Vigilance team to investigate the reduced weight of Dwarapalakas after they were sent to a Chennai-based firm for electroplating, which was sponsored by businessman Unnikrishnan Potty in 2019.

The SIT will be led by Superintendent of Police S Sasidharan, and its functioning will be

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