Sabarimala gold: SIT files first report in Kerala HC in sealed cover
Kochi(PTI): The SIT probing the loss of gold from Sabarimala on Tuesday filed its first report in the Kerala High Court in a sealed cover, sources said.
The report was submitted before a bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar in in-camera proceedings, in the absence of lawyers, court sources added.
Police officials said the report will detail the current status of the Special Investigation Team’s probe into the gold loss.
The High Court, while assigning the case to the SIT, had directed the team to file a progress report within two weeks and set a six-week deadline to complete the investigation.
The SIT was constituted after a court-initiated plea revealed the loss of the gold.
The plea arose when the bench was informed that the gold-plated copper claddings of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols in Sabarimala had been removed for repair and renovation without notifying the court.
Subsequently, a vigilance report highlighted lapses by Devaswom officials in connection with the gold loss, prompting the court to direct the SIT to register a criminal case and initiate a probe.
Following this, the SIT registered two cases related to missing gold from the plates of the Dwarapalaka idols and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frame, arraigning 10 people, including Bengaluru-based Unnikrishnan Potty and some Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials, as accused.
Potty, who had sponsored the electroplating of the gold-clad copper plates on the Dwarapalaka idols and Sreekovil door frames in 2019, was later arrested.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
