Accepting the argument that the Thantri only has tantric powers, the court said prima facie there is no evidence at this stage to prove that Thantri is directly linked to the Sabarimala gold robbery.
Jayasree is alleged to have made corrections in the minutes of board documents related to the gold plating of temple artefacts. The ED is examining whether any alterations were made to official records in connection with the execution of the work.
Potty was granted bail in the case pertaining to the alleged theft of gold from the door frames of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple after the SIT failed to file its charge sheet within 90 days of his arrest.
Speaking to media persons here, he asked what happened after questioning former Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran. There are some doubts in this investigation.
Reports indicate that the SIT has confirmed that D Mani's real name is Balamurugan, a native of Dindigul in Tamil Nadu. He is also known as Diamond Mani. The SIT's interrogation will continue on Thursday, too.
He claimed that the role of former Devaswom ministers in the gold heist had become clear.
During the hearing of the bail plea, Padmakumar’s counsel argued that his custody was no longer required in the investigation and that the decision to allow moving the gold-plated sheets outside for maintenance was a collective decision taken by the board.
The SIT suspects that the conspiracy behind the gold heist may have been hatched at his residence in Aranmula.
The arrest was recorded in Thiruvananthapuram at around 3 pm. Padmakumar, a senior CPM leader and former MLA, was grilled for four hours by the investigation team led by SP Sasidharan at a secret location here before his arrest.
As veteran, now retired bureaucrat K. Jayakumar assumes charge as the new TDB president on Saturday, shockwaves from the ongoing probe into the Sabarimala gold heist have unsettled the CPI(M)’s top brass, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
