Sabarimala gold theft case: Ex Devasom Board head Padmakumar arrested

Thiruvananthapuram: The SIT probing the Sabarimala temple gold missing case has arrested former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar here on Thursday.

The former MLA was questioned at the Crime Branch office here since morning, PTI reported.

He was the TDB president in 2019 when the board considered a proposal to hand over the gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty for electroplating.

Although Padmakumar has maintained that he was not the board president when the gold-clad plates were actually handed over to Potty, the SIT holds that the proposal was processed during his tenure.

Officials said Padmakumar had been asked to appear for questioning twice this month but had sought more time.

However, he turned up for interrogation when a fresh notice was issued recently, an officer said.

Padmakumar is a senior CPI(M) leader in Pathanamthitta district and has represented Konni constituency in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Vigilance Court in Kollam on Thursday sent N Vasu, who succeeded Padmakumar as TDB president in 2019, to SIT custody till evening.

The SIT had approached the court seeking his custody for a day for further interrogation. The court, after considering the plea, granted his custody till 4 pm.

BJP workers staged a protest near the court when Vasu was produced, raising slogans against him and attempting to block the vehicle in which he was shifted from the court to the Crime Branch office here.

So far, the SIT has arrested five persons, including prime accused Potty and Vasu, in two cases related to gold lost from Dwarapalaka idols and Sreekovil doorframes.