SIT suspects more gold lost from Sabarimala than recovered so far
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold loss case suspects that more gold was lost from the temple than what has been recovered so far from the prime accused.
The suspicion was stated in an application filed by the SIT before the Kollam Vigilance Court seeking custody of three accused — sponsor Unnikrishnan Potty, Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari and jeweller Govardhan Roddam.
In the petition, the SIT said copper plates clad with gold, with a total weight of 42.100 kg, were handed over to prime accused Potty for electroplating at Smart Creations in 2019.
After the plating process, the remaining gold was allegedly siphoned off by the accused.
According to the SIT, gold-clad copper plates, including those from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols, plates from two nearby pillars and seven plates from the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), were removed and taken for replating.
The seven plates from the Sreekovil doorframes included two plates depicting the Dasavatar, two bearing rashi symbols, two plates on the upper portion of the doorframes, and one plate on the Prabha Mandalam above the doorframe, which had idols of Siva and Vyali sculpted on it, the application said.
In the custody application, the SIT said Bhandari confessed that around 109.243 grams of gold was taken by him as fees for replating.
On October 25, 2025, Bhandari produced 109.243 grams of gold before the SIT, claiming it was equivalent to what he had taken as fees in 2019.
The gold recovered during the plating process was handed over to Govardhan, the SIT said.
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On October 24, 2025, Govardhan produced 474.960 grams of gold before the SIT, claiming it was equivalent to the quantity he received from Potty after electroplating.
However, the SIT said further investigation revealed that there was more gold in the gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka idols, pillars and Sreekovil doorframes than the quantity produced by Bhandari and Govardhan.
The SIT said the report of scientific analysis of samples of plated gold on copper plates sent to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, is awaited.
So far, the SIT has arrested 10 people, including two former presidents of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) who were associated with the CPI(M). The SIT, appointed by the Kerala High Court, has been given a deadline to complete the investigation by this month.
Meanwhile, a political row erupted after reports emerged about the SIT’s reported move to interrogate UDF convenor Adoor Prakash.
The reports claimed that Prakash would be questioned following the emergence of a recent photograph of Potty standing with Sonia Gandhi.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on Thursday said the High Court should re-examine the decision to appoint two new officers to the SIT, alleging that the appointments were made with the knowledge of two senior IPS officers and a senior Crime Branch official who is a staunch CPI(M) supporter.
“These officers were appointed to leak information from the SIT. Hardcore CPI(M)-leaning officials are acting under pressure from the Chief Minister’s Office,” he alleged, adding that the court-appointed SIT was not being allowed to function independently.
Satheesan said information about Prakash being interrogated was leaked, while the questioning of CPI(M) leader Kadakampally Surendran last week was kept secret.
He said Prakash would cooperate if the police called him for evidence or statements, but alleged that attempts were being made to "balance" the case, as CPI(M) leaders were responsible for the "gold theft."
Similarly, Prakash said he came to know about the SIT’s plan to interrogate him through media reports.
He alleged that the Chief Minister’s political secretary P Sasi was behind the recent developments involving him.
“I am ready to appear before the SIT whenever required. I will request the presence of the media if they call me for interrogation. Otherwise, I will reveal all the details that I convey to the SIT,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Office issued a statement refuting Prakash’s claims.
It said the SIT was constituted by the Kerala High Court and the probe is being conducted under the supervision of a Division Bench of the court, with a strict directive that investigation details should not be disclosed outside.
Neither the Chief Minister’s Office nor the political secretary has any role or involvement in the matter, the statement said, adding that the allegation made by the MP was completely baseless and false.
On the other hand, CPI(M) leaders alleged that Satheesan questioned the credibility of the SIT after learning that Prakash would be interrogated.
“It is unfortunate that Satheesan has changed his version and is now blaming the SIT when it is going to interrogate Prakash. They see that the Sabarimala gold issue is now coming towards them and are taking measures to prevent it,” CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said.
He said the people of Kerala know the truth and the LDF government has not protected any accused in the case.
“We continue to maintain that no one will be protected and those behind the loss of gold from Sabarimala will be punished. It is the UDF that is changing its stance,” he said.
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Delhi court sentences Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia, associate to life imprisonment
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia and his associate to life imprisonment under MCOCA provisions, but refused the death penalty saying the offences did not fall under the category of 'rarest of the rare cases'.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain sentenced Gulia and Dhirpal alias Kana to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
In an order dated December 13, the judge said, "Death sentence can only be awarded in 'rarest of the rare cases' wherein the murder is committed in an extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner as to arouse umbrage of the community at large."
The judge said that on weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it could be concluded that the present case did not fall under the category, and so, the death penalty could not be imposed upon the convicts.
"Thus, both the convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh each, for committing the offence under Section 3 of MCOCA," she said.
The public prosecutor, seeking the death penalty for both the accused, submitted that they were involved in several unlawful activities while they were on bail in other cases.
He argued that the accused had shown no respect for the law and acted without any fear of legal consequences, and therefore did not deserve any leniency from the court.
The court noted that both convicts were involved in offences of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Besides, they had misused the liberty of interim bail granted to them by absconding.
It said, "The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public, and they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of convicts. Despite suffering losses, they could not gather the courage to depose against them."
The court noted that Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to 10 serious offences.
It underlined that MCOCA had been enacted "keeping in view the fact that organised crime had come up as a serious threat to society, as it knew no territorial boundaries and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated by committing the offence of extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, collection of protection money, murder, etc."
Both accused persons had been convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The police filed a chargesheet under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) and 4 (punishment for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of member of organised crime syndicate) of MCOCA.
