Former Sabarimala executive officer who helped main accused, arrested in gold theft case
Pathanamthitta (Kerala) (PTI): The SIT probing the alleged disappearance of gold from the Sabarimala temple has arrested former executive officer Sudheesh Kumar, officials said on Saturday.
Kumar, who served as the executive officer of the hill shrine in 2019, was arrested after being questioned at the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram, sources said.
He has been accused of concealing that the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols were gold-plated, instead recording them as copper sheets in the temple’s official documents.
Sources said Kumar had been associated with Sabarimala since the 1990s and was aware that the sanctum sanctorum, including the Dwarapalaka idols, had been gold-clad during 1998–99.
However, when the Dwarapalaka plates were handed over to the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, for gold plating in 2019, Kumar allegedly documented them as copper plates, enabling the accused to later remove the existing gold plating, an officer said.
Similarly, Kumar recommended to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) that the Dwarapalaka plates be handed over to Potty for electroplating.
The removal of the plates was carried out without the presence of the TDB Thiruvabharanam (sacred ornament) commissioner, sources said.
He is the third person to be arrested in the case, following Potty and former administrative officer B Murari Babu.
Kumar was produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court here and was remanded to judicial custody.
The court has ordered that he be produced again on Monday.
Meanwhile, the SIT also interrogated Vasudevan, a close aide of Potty.
Investigators said Vasudevan had kept the additional gold-clad pedestal of the Dwarapalaka idols in his custody, which was later seized from the house of Potty’s relative in Thiruvananthapuram last month.
The SIT is investigating two related cases concerning the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and from the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), which were handed over to Potty for electroplating in 2019.
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Karnataka issues nutrition advisory for govt events; recommends millets, healthier options
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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.
The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."
The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.
Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.
According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.
It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.
If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.
In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.
It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.
The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.
It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.
“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.
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