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Thiruvananthapuram, October 17 (IANS) A court in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district on Friday allowed the SIT team that arrested Unnikrishnan Potti, the main accused in the gold theft at Sabarimala temple, to be kept in custody till October 30.
The arrest report reveals that Potti has obtained two kilograms of gold from the Sabarimala temple, and there have also been serious violations of rituals associated with the temple.
Potti was arrested on Thursday morning after more than 10 hours of questioning at the crime branch office in the state capital and taken to court.
As he was taken out of the court after being handed over to the police, he told the media, “Those who have implicated me will also be brought before the law.”
Meanwhile, Congress party state president Sunny Joseph, who is demanding the resignation of state Devaswom minister VN Vasavan and members of the Travancore Devaswom board, alleged that the police were trying to protect the accused and hence there was a delay in Potti’s arrest.
Potti’s arrest is the first breakthrough in the theft of gold from the idols of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) at Sabarimala and the Kattilappadi (threshold) of Srikovil.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has registered two separate cases against Potti, who allegedly smuggled gold from the temple in the guise of a sponsor.
In the two FIRs, the SIT has convicted 10 people, with Potti named in both the FIRs and he is the main accused.
It is estimated that the theft involved 475 grams of gold, worth approximately 56 guineas.
Investigators found that only three grams of gold was actually used for the plating, with Potti misusing the rest.
Now Potti is in SIT custody till October 30. It remains to be seen whether the real truth will emerge in the scam, which has hurt thousands of Ayyappa devotees, and all the wrongdoers in the case will be brought before the law. It has already been suspected whether TDB officials or political leaders are among these wrongdoers.
Sunny Joseph demanded that those who sheltered Potti and benefited from him should also be identified.
“The delay in arresting Potti was done to destroy the evidence and shift the stolen gold to other places. The arrest took place only because of the intervention of the High Court. The conspiracy is clear from the FIR. One person alone could not have carried out this. The Travancore Devaswom Board also takes responsibility for the theft. They should also be named as accused and arrested. Evidence should be collected from them and the stolen gold should be recovered. Should. This is important for the hearing of the case,” Joseph said.
“Though Congress has repeatedly demanded recovery of the stolen gold, no action has been taken so far,” he said.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan said Potti was not alone guilty as the board and even political leaders were involved.
“If there is a proper investigation, TDB member and then state Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran will also be in trouble. I have enough evidence about the close ties between Surendran and Potti. The current TDB will also have to take action because they know everything, and they tried to do another round of gold plating this year. It is only the Lord Ayyappa idol that is untouched,” Satheesan said.
–IANS
SG/DPB