Sabarimala gold theft: Prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty in SIT custody, being quizzed at secret location

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the alleged theft of gold from the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, has taken Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused in the case, into custody.

A team of the SIT reached his residence at Pulimath on Thursday afternoon and later took him to an undisclosed location for questioning. Information, including whether an arrest has been recorded, is yet to be known.

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Potty was taken into custody days after the gold heist came to light. His phone has been switched off since Wednesday.

Earlier, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) Vigilance Wing had questioned the accused several times during its preliminary inquiry.

The SIT has obtained documents from the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) regarding the handing over of gold-clad copper plates from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames for electroplating in 2019.

Meanwhile, the SIT has found that Potty handed over the stolen gold to Kalpesh, a Bengaluru native. It has received crucial information about the latter.

The SIT is investigating two cases, one concerning missing gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the other regarding gold from the Sreekovil door frames. Meanwhile, it has decided to bring former Devaswom Commissioner N Vasu under the ambit of the investigation to question him in the case shortly.

The Devaswom Vigilance had found that it was during N Vasu’s tenure as the Devaswom Commissioner that a document was prepared stating that the gold plating on the door of the shrine was copper and decided to hand it over to Unnikrishna Potty. This was submitted to the High Court as a supplementary report. It is on this basis that Vasu is being questioned.