Kerala SIT recovered over 400 grams of stolen Sabarimala temple gold from a jewellery shop in Karnataka’s Bellari during raids linked to accused Unnikrishnan Potti. Multiple gold coins and Rs 2 lakh in currency were seized from Thiruvananthapuram.
Bengaluru: The Kerala Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday, October 25 made a significant advancement in the Sabarimala gold theft case by retrieving a large amount of stolen gold from a jewellery shop in Karnataka’s Bellari district. The development comes after the team conducted a raid at the Bengaluru residence of Unnikrishnan Potti, primary accused in the case who has been remanded to police custody until October 30. The SIT is examining his involvement in the 2019 theft of the gold-plated panels from the Sabarimala temple’s Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) panels.
According to reports, Unnikrishnan Potti allegedly transferred the gold to his business partner Govardhan. A raid conducted under the supervision of SP Sasidharan led to the confiscation of more than 400 grams of gold from Govardhan’s jewellery establishment. The investigation has now extended across state borders, with teams conducting searches in Bengaluru, Bellari, Hyderabad, and Chennai to track the movement of stolen gold and corroborate Potti’s testimony. Multiple gold coins and approximately Rs 2 lakh in currency were seized during a search at Potti’s home in Thiruvananthapuram.
Further Investigation Underway
Investigators are analyzing whether the retrieved gold corresponds to the amount allegedly misappropriated from temple renovation projects. Govardhan, who previously provided gold for plating the temple’s sanctum panels, is also being questioned. The SIT plans to obtain statements from additional Devaswom Board staff members who participated in temple restoration activities to assess the possibility of insider involvement.
Meanwhile, the Ranni Court has remanded former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) Executive Officer Murari Babu to 14 days’ custody in connection with the case. Babu, currently under suspension, was taken into custody from his residence in Perunna late Wednesday night by the SIT and produced before the court after questioning at the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram, where his arrest was formally recorded. According to the SIT remand report, Murari Babu played a key role in falsifying documents that claimed the gold-plated panels from the Sabarimala temple were made of copper. He is the second accused in the 2019 theft of the gilded overlays of the temple’s Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) panels. The first accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, was arrested earlier.
The SIT suspects that Babu, who had served in senior positions within the Devaswom Board for several years, colluded with Potti by submitting a false report during the 2019 restoration process. The internal audit wing had earlier held him responsible for the discrepancy. The case gained renewed attention after Unnikrishnan Potti, in the run-up to the TDB-sponsored Global Ayyappa Sanghamam in September, claimed that four gold-plated panels he donated in 2019 were missing. The TDB Vigilance recovered the missing panels from Potti’s sister’s residence in Thiruvananthapuram, leading the Kerala High Court to order a detailed SIT probe into all TDB transactions involving him. Earlier, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president, PS Prasanth, suspended Assistant Engineer K Sunil Kumar for his alleged involvement in the Sabarimala gold theft case.
(With inputs from ANI)