SIT to submit first progress report on Sabarimala gold case to Kerala HC
Pathanamthitta (PTI): The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the loss of gold from Sabarimala is expected to file its first progress report to the Kerala High Court soon, police sources said on Monday.
The division bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar will hear the case again on Tuesday.
Sources told PTI that the SIT plans to submit the report on the same day.
Officials said the report will cover the current status of the investigation, including the arrest of Bengaluru-based Unnikrishnan Potty, who sponsored the electroplating of gold-clad copper plates on the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum )door frames in 2019.
It will also detail the investigation carried out at Chennai, where the plates were electroplated, sources said.
The High Court, while assigning the SIT to the case, had directed the team to file a progress report within two weeks and set a six-week deadline to complete the investigation.
The SIT has registered two cases related to gold missing from the plates of Dwarapalaka idols and Sreekovil door frames. As many as 10 persons have been arraigned as accused in both cases, including Potty and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials.
SIT is expected to interrogate other accused persons soon.
The amicus curiae, retired High Court judge Justice KT Sankaran, assigned to prepare an inventory of valuables, including gold at the hill shrine, is also expected to submit a preliminary report when the case is considered on Tuesday.
Justice Sankaran visited Sabarimala and examined the strong rooms last week.
Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph alleged that the government is protecting the accused persons in the Sabarimala case.
“Even though the court ordered the SIT probe on October 6, the arrest was made only on October 16. When Congress workers are arrested within hours in other cases, those accused of stealing crores of rupees worth of gold from Sabarimala are freely roaming. The government is intentionally protecting them,” he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
