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Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 25 (IANS) In a major breakthrough in the Sabarimala gold theft case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has recovered a large quantity of stolen gold from a jewelery outlet in Karnataka’s Bellary.
The gold, allegedly handed over by key accused Unnikrishnan Potti to his associate Govardhan, was seized during the raid led by Superintendent of Police Sasidharan.
The team recovered more than 400 grams of gold from Govardhan’s jewelery store.
In a parallel operation, investigators also seized several gold coins and around Rs 2 lakh in cash from Potti’s residence in Pulimath, Thiruvananthapuram.
The SIT is continuing evidence collection with Unnikrishnan Potti, who will remain in custody till October 30.
The investigation has now moved beyond Kerala, with the team visiting several locations in Bengaluru, Bellary, Hyderabad and Chennai to trace the flow of the stolen gold and verify Potti’s statements.
On Saturday morning, Potti was accompanied by a three-member SIT team to Bengaluru as part of the ongoing investigation.
His residence in the city, the place in Bellary where the gold was allegedly sold, a Hyderabad-based company that repaired the door panels of the temple sanctum, and Chennai-based company Smart Creations, which supplied gold plating material for the Sabarimala temple, are being searched.
The SIT is now investigating whether the recovered gold matches with the amount extracted from temple work or not.
Govardhan, who had earlier supplied gold for plating the sanctum sanctorum panels of the Sabarimala temple, is also under investigation.
The SIT is expected to record statements of other Devaswom Board employees involved in the temple renovation works to determine the extent of internal collusion.
With crucial evidence coming to light, investigators believe the latest recovery could provide the missing link in unraveling the high-profile Sabarimala gold heist.
The SIT has so far arrested Potti, former top Sabarimala temple official Murari Babu and they are now moving towards registering some more arrests as in their two FIRs they have listed 10 accused.
–IANS
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