Sabarimala gold scandal prime suspect and ex-assistant to the Travancore Devaswom Board appointed priest Unnikrishnan Potty has been arrested and taken into custody for further investigations on Thursday.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Kerala High Court was in charge of investigating the gold theft scandal at Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, also known as Dharma Shasta. According to a TOI report, on Thursday morning, the SIT found Potty at his residence in Pulimath, taking him to an undisclosed location in Thiruvananthapuram for interrogation.
Who is Unnikrishnan Potty?
Unnikrishnan Potty, who worked as an assistant to the Sabarimala priest and used to facilitate darshans for VIPs of South India. Potty was entrusted with the delivery of the gold-plated copper coverings of the Dwarapalaka idols to Chennai-based jewellery firm, Smart Creations.
While previously, any work on the deity’s ornaments used to take place within the temple premises, under strict supervision.
Why is Potty the prime suspect in the case?
Potty is the primary accused in both cases filed regarding the Sabarimala gold mismanagement incident. His direct involvement in handling the deity’s ornaments and delivering them from the temple to the jewellery firm, Smart Creations, brought him into the light. Earlier, a missing set of dwarapalaka idols of the temple was found at Potty’s sister’s house.
There are nine others accused in this gold mismanagement case, including Murari Babu, former administrative officer, S Jayasree, former TDB secretary, K S Baiju and R G Radhakrishnan, former Thiruvabharanam commissioners, former executive officers D Sudheesh Kumar and V S Rajendra Prasad, assistant engineer K Sunil Kumar and former administrative officers S Sreekumar and K Rajendran Nair, According to a TOI report.
What has been found in the investigation so far
The SIT has been looking into the misplacement of the gold from the deity’s ornaments. They are also trying to track down exactly how much gold has been misplaced from the official records and the Chennai-based jewellery firm that performed the gold and electroplating.
As per a TOI report, it has been revealed through the investigation that the stolen gold was delivered by Potty to a man named Kalpesh in Bengaluru, and the SIT has stated that they have discovered significant information regarding Kalpesh's involvement.
The Kerala High Court has directed the Special Investigation Team to complete the investigation within six weeks.
