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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Mangaluru youngster killed in road accident in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri
Konaje: A 28-year-old married man from Boliyar near Mudipu died in a road accident reported in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, on Tuesday.
The deceased has been identified as Mohammed Rizwan (28), son of B.H. Kareem, a resident of Boliyar, police said.
Rizwan had been working for several years as a driver of a fish transport lorry through a company. He was driving a fish-laden lorry to Maharashtra when the accident occurred between two lorries in Ratnagiri. He sustained severe injuries in the crash and succumbed to them, according to information received.
He is survived by his father, mother, wife, two-year-old child, three brothers and three sisters.
Family sources said the body is expected to reach his native place on Wednesday morning and burial will take place in the premises of the Boliyar Central Mosque.
