Unnikrishnan Potty, the main accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, has been granted a bail by a Kerala court after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) failed to submit a chargesheet within 90 days of his arrest.
The bail, granted in the second case related to the loss of gold from the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames, follows an earlier bail granted in the related Dwarapalaka idol case. As a result, Potty is expected to be released from jail, having secured bail in both of the principal cases concerning the Sabarimala gold loss.
The grant of bail has further intensified the political heat in the state. Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan, who has been repeatedly raising allegations against the SIT and accusing it of pursuing a flawed line of investigation, said, “Our allegation has now been proved right.”
“We said that all of them would get bail, and that’s exactly what is happening. They have not even filed a preliminary chargesheet,” Satheesan added.
Stepping up his attack on the Left government, the Congress leader said, “Now CPI(M) leaders will start coming out of jail. Many are already in the queue, including a former Devaswom minister and the current Devaswom minister, who should be arrested. We had already demanded the minister’s resignation.”
Potty is the first accused in both cases and becomes the fourth individual arrested in connection with the incident to be released from custody.
As part of his bail conditions, Potty must furnish two sureties of Rs 2 lakh each, is prohibited from leaving Kerala, and is not allowed to enter Pathanamthitta district, where the Sabarimala Temple locates. He must also report to the investigating officers every Tuesday and Friday.
The Sabarimala gold loss incidents stem from the gold-plated artefacts of the temple, with Potty having sought approval from the Travancore Devaswom Board in 2019 for the replating of these items. The artefacts were later sent to Smart Creations, a Chennai-based company, where the gold plating work was carried out.
The SIT alleges that gold was diverted from the artefacts during the replating process. The statement from the investigation notes, “The SIT has claimed that gold was diverted from the artefacts during the replating process.”
In a related development, the court extended the remand of Kandararu Rajeevaru, the former chief priest (Tantri), who was produced through video conferencing. Rajeevaru has also filed for bail, with his petition scheduled for consideration on February 9.
Meanwhile, KS Baiju, the former Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of the Travancore Devaswom Board, has submitted a statutory bail application for both cases. Baiju is listed as the seventh accused in the Dwarapalaka gold loss case and the fourth accused in the Sreekovil doorframe gold loss case, with his petition to be heard on February 11.
The Kerala High Court, which directed the formation of the SIT to probe the Sabarimala gold loss, has expressed satisfaction with the progress of the investigation. However, the court acknowledged that some accused have become eligible for statutory bail because of the delays in filing chargesheets.
In addition to the local investigation, the Enforcement Directorate is conducting a probe into suspected money laundering linked to the Sabarimala gold loss incident, expanding the scope of the inquiry into the financial aspects of the alleged theft.
