KOLLAM: The Kollam Vigilance court on Wednesday granted bail to Bengaluru-based businessman Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused in the case related to the loss of gold from the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames of the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala.
As per the bail order, Potty has been barred from entering the Pathanamthitta district. He has been directed not to leave the state and to surrender his passport.
The court also directed him not to intimate or influence witnesses and destroy evidence.
The court on Tuesday completed the hearing on the bail plea and reserved its verdict for Wednesday.
Potty, however, will continue to be in jail for now as he has also been arrested in the case related to the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols of the temple.
Potti was arrested in the case on October 17 last year and the special investigation team failed to file the chargesheet within the stipulated 90 days following which the bail petition was moved.
As per law, failure in filing chargesheet within 90 days of arrest makes the accused eligible for default bail. On this basis, Potty's incarceration will continue as he is an accused in the case pertaining to theft of gold from the door frames of Sabarimala shrine.
Potti was the first person to be arrested in the gold theft case. The priest-turned-businessman was arrested from his residence by the SIT, who accused him of swindling gold weighing about 2kg from the artefacts after taking them to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu for maintenance work.
The SIT has so far arrested 12 people, including Potty and two former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) presidents in the two cases.