THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The special investigation team probing the Sabarimala gold theft cases has extended the probe to additional areas in Tamil Nadu as part of its effort to verify information provided by a businessman that a racket involved in trafficking idols could have played a role in the gold heist.
The SIT knocked on the doors of a Dindigul-based man, identified as M S Mani, under the suspicion he was the same person the businessman had mentioned in his testimonial. The businessman, a close contact of senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, told the SIT that four panchaloha idols were bought by a Tamil Nadu-based antique collector from Kerala and that they reached the hands of an international smuggling racket.
The businessman mentioned the antique-collector as D Mani. It was while verifying the statement that the sleuths reached the doors of the Dindigul man, who identified himself as M S Mani.
The man told reporters that the investigators did not tell him which case his statement was recorded in. While clarifying his name was M S Mani, he said he had no connection with either the antique trade or Sabarimala. He said one of his friends Balamurugan’s phone number might have been misused by suspects, which could have led the cops to him.
The SIT scrutinised the IT returns documents and also showed photographs of a couple of people to him and asked whether he could identify any of them. His reply, sources said, was negative.
However, sources said Chennithala and the businessman, whose identity has been kept under wraps, confirmed it was the Dindigul man they had mentioned about. The SIT will issue summons to him to appear in person in Thiruvananthapuram, a source said.
Highly-placed sources said the development should not be construed as a breakthrough. Besides Dindigul, a few more places in Tamil Nadu, including Virudhunagar, have been searched by the SIT.