THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Travancore Devaswom Board executive officer D Sudheesh Kumar, who was in judicial custody in the Sabarimala gold theft cases, was granted bail by the Kollam Vigilance Court on Sunday.
The court granted bail in both the Dwarapalaka idols case and the Sreekovil door frame case after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) failed to file charge sheets within the stipulated 90-day period. Sudheesh Kumar is the third accused in the Dwarapalaka gold loss case and the fifth accused in the Sreekovil door frame case.
Sudheesh Kumar was earlier arrested for his alleged role in a conspiracy involving the removal and tampering of gold plating from temple idols and fittings. According to the SIT, he played a key role in handing over panels from the temple during renovation works.
Investigators said that the original gold-plated panels were falsely described as copper plates and handed over to contractor Unnikrishnan Potti. The SIT found that Sudheesh Kumar had issued a recommendation letter referring to the panels as copper, despite being aware that they were gold-plated.
The probe also revealed that although official records stated the panels were given to Potti, Sudheesh Kumar had allegedly handed them over to two of Potti’s associates. He later signed the mahazar which recorded that the gold-plated panels had been handed over to Potti.
Sudheesh Kumar had completed 90 days in judicial custody in both cases, following which he became eligible for bail due to the failure to file charge sheets within the legal time limit.