The Kerala High Court’s special investigation team (SIT) probing the shocking gold-plated copper panel theft from the famous Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in 2019 is cooking up a big legal storm! The SIT is now thinking of bringing retired and serving Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials, including top political appointees, under the tough Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). If this spicy move happens, the SIT will file a strong report with the Inquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance) in Kollam, which also looks after Pathanamthitta district where Sabarimala is located. This step has huge political and legal weight because the investigation is inching closer to the high-ranking TDB officers. The team has already asked the Kerala High Court for permission to use the PCA. This is to avoid tricky legal problems, like proving if the TDB officials directly played a part in the theft. The SIT suspects these officials "wilfully miscategorised" the dazzling gold-plated panels covering the temple’s stone carvings as just copper panels. This sneaky cover-up was before handing the panels to Unnikrishnan Potti, the main accused, who took them for "refurbishment." According to the SIT’s court papers, this mislabeling gave unfair monetary benefits to Mr. Potti and also acted like a legal shield for him if the theft came out. The SIT is even digging into whether the CPI(M) leader and former TDB president K. Padmakumar, who was at the helm when N. Vasu served as Devasom Commissioner, will be questioned. Interestingly, N. Vasu, also a former TDB president, was arrested and kept in judicial custody by the SIT. The SIT describes the whole mess as an "elaborate crime" crafted on temple records falsely tagging gold as copper. The sly Mr. Potti reportedly rented out these panels to rich devotees and donors for private worship, earning big bribes. Even more, the investigators are exploring if Potti and his gang melted the panels for gold or made cheaper copies to sell the real ones to wealthy collectors. So far, the SIT has arrested five people — Unnikrishnan Potti and four TDB officials, both retired and current. The case is becoming a spicy saga of greed, politics, and golden secrets at one of Kerala’s holiest temples!