Kollam(Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday granted bail to Bengaluru-based businessman Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused in the case related to the loss of gold from the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames of the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala.

Potty, however, will continue to be in jail for now as he has also been arrested in the case related to the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols of the temple.

He was given bail in the Sreekovil door frames case by a vigilance court here.

He had sought bail on the ground that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the cases had not filed a chargesheet despite the expiry of the mandatory 90-day period stipulated under the law.

The detailed order giving the reasons and conditions for the bail is not yet available.

The SIT has so far arrested 12 people, including Potty and two former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) presidents in the two cases.

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.