Thiruvananthapuram: In the matter of the controversial Sabarimala gold theft, the Kerala Police Crime Branch has registered two FIRs naming Unnikrishnan Potty as the main accused. The FIRs are to be handed over to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for further probe, and the SIT will decide whether Devaswom officials and others must be included in the list of accused, Onmanorama reported.
When one of the FIRs was registered regarding the gold-clad panels of the Dwarapalaka idol, the second was related to the door frames. The accused are charged with unauthorised extraction, illegal transportation, and fraudulent transactions.
The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the state police to register a criminal case in connection with the "misappropriation of gold" from the "side frame or lintels" of the Sabarimala shrine and launch an investigation, according to PTI.
A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar issued the direction after going through the investigation report placed before it by the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer (Superintendent of Police).
The bench said that the probe was initially commenced with respect to the gold-plating of the 'Dwarpalaka' (guardian deity) idols in Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala, but the facts in the report "disclose serious malpractice regarding the door frames as well".
Kerala High Court retired Judge Justice K T Sankaran, on Saturday, reached Sabarimala to prepare an inventory of all valuables, including gold, as directed by the HC to check the missing of gold-clad materials from the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) of the hill shrine, PTI reported.
Justice Sankaran had arrived at Pampa, the foothills of Sabarimala, on October 10 and trekked to the temple around 8 am on Saturday.
He was accompanied by Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials, including a goldsmith, sources said.