THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The special investigation team (SIT) has intensified its probe into the ‘misappropriation’ of gold at the Sabarimala temple. The team visited the office of the Chennai-based firm, Smart Creations, where the gold-plating work was done, and recorded the statement of its CEO Pankaj Bhandari.
The officers also visited Sannidhanam and reportedly interacted with temple officials.
The panels on the temple’s dwarapalaka idols were gold-plated by the Chennai firm, which has been engaged in gold-plating and repair for about four decades.
Meanwhile, the SIT will soon record the statements of all 10 people who have been listed as accused in the FIRs. The crime branch has registered two cases regarding the misappropriation of gold from Sabarimala artifacts, naming Unnikrishnan Potti, a priest-turned-businessman, as the main accused.
In one of the cases, the Travancore Devaswom Board members who were in office in May 2019 have been listed as accused. However, the FIR did not mention any of their names. A Padmakumar was the then TDB president, while K P Sankar Das and K Raghavan were members.
Reacting to the development, Padmakumar said neither he nor TDB did anything illegal during his tenure. He said he was not aware of being implicated in the case. He said it was up to the court to decide if he had committed any lapses.
