Prime accused in Sabarimala temple gold theft case interrogated for eight hours
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Prime accused in Sabarimala temple gold theft case interrogated for eight hours")
Sabarimala temple Photograph: (ANI)
The temple's gold-plated artefacts that were sent to a firm in Chennai in 2019 for electroplating was sponsored by prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty.
Prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, in the Sabarimala gold theft case was interrogated by the police for over eight hours, said officials on Saturday (June 27). The Special Investigation Team (SIT) questioned Potty at the Police Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
According to news agency PTI, Potty appeared before the investigating team in the morning and was questioned till evening. The interrogation is said to be the final stage of the probe before the SIT files a final report before the court next week.
Potty, the prime accused in the case was arrested by the SIT during the investigation. He later got statutory bail after spending more than three months in judicial custody.
The temple's gold-plated artefacts that were sent to a firm in Chennai in 2019 for electroplating was sponsored by Potty.
It is during the replating process that gold was allegedly removed from the gold-clad plates of the artefacts suspect SIT.
What is the Sabarimala gold theft case?
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The Sabarimala gold theft case is about large-scale misappropriation of approximately 4.54 kg of sacred gold plating from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) doorframes of the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple in Kerala.
The scandal came to light when the Kerala High Court observed a massive drop in weight between the gold-clad casings removed for renovation in 2019 and when they were produced at a metal works firm in Chennai for electroplating that was sponsored by Potty.
Surprisingly, the precious gold-clad items was recorded as simple "copper plates" in the official handover documents of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).
