Thiruvananthapuram: In a major development, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Kerala High Court has arrested Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, on Friday.
The arrest was officially recorded at 2:30 a.m. on Friday.
Unnikrishnan Potti's arrest pertains to the theft of gold plating from the sanctum's wooden panels and the Dwarapalaka (door guardian) sculptures at Sabarimala temple. The action comes on the fifth day of the court-monitored SIT probe.
He underwent a medical examination at Thiruvananthapuram General Hospital late Thursday night and will be produced before the Ranni court this afternoon. The SIT is also expected to seek his custody for further interrogation.
He was taken from the Thiruvananthapuram Crime Branch office this morning to be produced before the Ranni court.
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.
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