Sabarimala gold: SIT files first report in Kerala HC in sealed cover

Kochi | The SIT probing the loss of gold from Sabarimala on Tuesday filed its first report in the Kerala High Court in a sealed cover, sources said.

The report was submitted before a bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar in in-camera proceedings, in the absence of lawyers, court sources added.

Police officials said the report will detail the current status of the Special Investigation Team's probe into the gold loss.

The High Court, while assigning the case to the SIT, had directed the team to file a progress report within two weeks and set a six-week deadline to complete the investigation.

The SIT was constituted after a court-initiated plea revealed the loss of the gold.

The plea arose when the bench was informed that the gold-plated copper claddings of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols in Sabarimala had been removed for repair and renovation without notifying the court.

Subsequently, a vigilance report highlighted lapses by Devaswom officials in connection with the gold loss, prompting the court to direct the SIT to register a criminal case and initiate a probe.

Following this, the SIT registered two cases related to missing gold from the plates of the Dwarapalaka idols and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frame, arraigning 10 people, including Bengaluru-based Unnikrishnan Potty and some Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials, as accused.

Potty, who had sponsored the electroplating of the gold-clad copper plates on the Dwarapalaka idols and Sreekovil door frames in 2019, was later arrested.