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Kochi, Oct 21 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed that the investigation into the alleged misappropriation of gold from the gatekeeper statues and side frames of the Sabarimala temple be conducted under its direct and constant supervision to ensure a fair, transparent and speedy process.
A division bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar held closed-door talks with officials leading the court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) and directed it to probe the larger conspiracy behind the temple gold theft case.
The court had constituted the SIT earlier this month and given it six weeks to complete the investigation. Instructions were also given to keep the court informed about the progress of the investigation.
The bench on Tuesday said court monitoring was necessary “in such a sensitive case where passions run high” to ensure that the investigation proceeds without any fear or favoritism.
The SIT, which has filed two separate FIRs and named 10 people as accused, with sponsor Unnikrishnan Potti being the first accused, submitted its progress report which revealed that both the cases were registered under sections 403, 406, 409, 466 and 467 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the preliminary investigation report submitted, evidence suggests that there was indeed a conspiracy behind the theft of the gold, which was carefully planned based on calculations in relation to the gold offerings, including the Dvarapalaka idols, provided by Vijay Mallya in 1998.
The accused reportedly believed that replacing the gold with painted replicas would prevent identification.
The court said that when the gold was handed over to artisan Potti, informal mahazars were prepared and Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials remained silent despite knowing about the irregularities.
The report also cites an email from Potti seeking the board’s consent to use 409 grams of gold extracted from a gilded side frame for the wedding of a poor girl, leading to another case being registered.
The SIT informed the court that Potti has been arrested and additional arrests are expected.
While appreciating the progress of the investigation so far, the bench nevertheless directed the SIT to investigate the larger criminal conspiracy behind the misappropriation.
Noting that the extended custody of the gold with potti, improper weighing, and misclassification of the idols as copper plates indicate collusion at multiple levels, it ordered the SIT to investigate the role of every TDB official “from the highest level down” and determine whether the handing over of the idols in 2025 was part of an effort to cover up the 2019 theft.
The bench also ordered seizure of the minutes book and related records of the TDB and directed that all the materials be kept in the custody of the Registrar General.
The next hearing of the case will be on November 5.
–IANS
SG/VD