Sabarimala heist: SIT recovers part of gold sold to jewellery dealer

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 25 (IANS) In a major breakthrough in the Sabarimala gold theft case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has recovered a substantial quantity of the stolen gold from a jewellery outlet in Bellari, Karnataka.

The gold, allegedly handed over by key accused Unnikrishnan Potti to his associate Govardhan, was seized during a raid led by Superintendent of Police Sasidharan.

The team recovered over 400 grams of gold from Govardhan’s jewellery store.

In a parallel operation, investigators also seized several gold coins and around Rs 2 lakh in cash from Potti’s residence in Pulimath, Thiruvananthapuram.

The SIT is continuing evidence collection with Unnikrishnan Potti, who remains in custody until October 30.

The probe has now expanded beyond Kerala, with the team visiting multiple locations in Bengaluru, Bellari, Hyderabad and Chennai to trace the flow of the stolen gold and verify Potti’s statements.

On Saturday morning, a three-member SIT team along with Potti was in Bengaluru as part of the ongoing investigation.

Searches are being carried out at his residence in the city, the site in Bellari where the gold was allegedly sold, a Hyderabad-based firm that had repaired the temple’s sanctum door panels, and the Chennai-based company Smart Creations, which supplied gold plating materials for the Sabarimala temple.

The SIT is now examining whether the recovered gold matches the quantity diverted from temple works.

Govardhan, who had earlier supplied gold for plating the temple’s sanctum panels of the Sabarimala temple, is also under scrutiny.

The SIT is expected to record statements from other Devaswom Board employees involved in temple renovation works to determine the extent of internal collusion.

With crucial evidence emerging, investigators believe the latest recovery could provide the missing link in unravelling the high-profile Sabarimala gold heist.

The SIT by now have arrested Potti, the former top Sabarimala temple official Murari Babu and they are now going forward in recording a few more arrests as in their two FIRs , they have listed 10 accused.

--IANS

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