The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the Sabarimala gold theft case, on Saturday interrogated Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused, for more than eight hours at the Police Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of submitting its final report to the court.
Crime Branch Chief and ADGP H. Venkatesh led the interrogation to obtain final clarity on how the gold-clad plates were allegedly transported and misappropriated. The SIT is scheduled to submit its final investigation report to the Kerala High Court on Monday.
Potty is the principal accused in two separate First Information Reports (FIRs). One case pertains to the alleged disappearance of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols, while the other relates to the side frames and lintel of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum).
While the alleged irregularities in the replacement of the gold-clad plates date back to the electroplating work carried out in 2019, investigators also questioned Potty extensively about an alleged attempt in 2025 to transport the gold panels out of the temple under the guise of maintenance work.
Potty had sponsored the replating of the temple’s artefacts in 2019. The SIT suspects that substantial quantities of pure gold were stripped from the gold-clad copper plates during the replating process.
He was arrested in October 2025 and spent more than three months in judicial custody before being granted statutory bail after the charge sheets were not filed within the mandatory 90-day period.
Ahead of finalising its report, the SIT, along with officials of the Legal Metrology Department, recently dismantled and weighed the Sreekovil doorframe and the Prabhamandalam inside the temple to ascertain the extent of the alleged discrepancy in the quantity of gold used.