Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 17 : In the Sabarimala gold theft case, Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused, has reportedly been taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Thursday. The SIT team arrived at Potti's residence in Thiruvananthapuram early today and escorted him to a secret location in Pathanamthitta for interrogation.
It is yet to be confirmed whether his arrest has been officially recorded. The SIT is expected to question him about the stolen gold, its whereabouts, and the involvement of other suspected individuals. His arrest is likely to follow the interrogation, followed by a medical examination and court appearance in Ranni (Pathanamthitta).
The investigation team is also conducting inspections at Sabarimala, including checks on files at the Executive Office.
Earlier on Saturday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tarun Chugh launched a scathing attack on the Kerala government over the ongoing Sabarimala temple gold plating controversy, alleging large-scale corruption and misuse of temple resources, and stated that the Devaswom Board and the ministers involved in the alleged irregularities must be exposed.
Speaking to ANI, Chugh claimed that the Left-led Kerala government had turned Hindu temples into "a hub of corruption" and demanded a thorough and impartial investigation into the matter.
"...Kerala's leftist government has turned Hindu temples into a hub of corruption...The state government influences SIT investigations...Accountability and a thorough investigation are needed...Devaswom board and ministers involved in this corruption must be exposed....Kerala's left government has been looting temple gold for many years now..." Chugh told ANI.
Earlier, the Travancore Devaswam Board (TDB) president PS Prasanth suspended assistant engineer K Sunil Kumar for his alleged involvement in the Sabarimala gold theft case.Kumar has been named as an accused in the case.
Prasanth said Retired officers involved in the gold-plating controversy will receive a show-cause notice, with a 10-day time frame to respond.
"In today's Board rmeeting, it was decided to suspend Assistant Engineer K Sunil Kumar, who is under investigation. Retired officers involved will receive show-cause notices and must respond within 10 days. Further action will be taken as per the rules after receiving their explanations," Prasanth told reporters
.The decision was made following a board meeting held on Tuesday. Referring to the 2019 incident, Prasanth said that the Kerala government, along with the Devaswom Board, has a clear stance that lost property must be recovered and culprits must be punished. He further stated that "protest against the Devaswom Board and attacks on employees" was regrettable since the Board was moving while upholding all rituals and traditions.