Thiruvananthapuram: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case arrested Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused in two cases registered as part of the investigation, following an interrogation that spanned over 11 hours. He was questioned by a team led by SP, Crime Branch (CU-4), Thiruvananthapuram, Bijoy P. Around 1 am,  S Sasidharan, Assistant Director (Administration), KEPA (Kerala Police Academy), who investigates the case under ADGP, Crime Branch, reached Thiruvananthapuram from Sabarimala. Potty's arrest was recorded in the early morning hours. He was later taken to General Hospital for Medical Examination. Potty was produced in the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Ranni, and remanded to custody till October 30. 

With the officers in the SIT under strict directions from the High Court not to divulge any information to the public or the media, the SIT has remained tight-lipped regarding details of the interrogation. The High Court has specifically directed that they shall refrain from divulging any information to the public or the media until the investigation is completed and seek the permission of the Court before filing the final report before the jurisdictional Court. 

Potty was arrested in two cases - for colluding with the Devaswom board officials and siphoning off gold panels of the Dwarapalaka idols and for detaching the door panels of the sanctum sanctorum plated with gold by misrepresenting it as copper plates with the recommendation of the board staff concerned. The SIT's first arrest in the case aligns with the findings of the Devaswom Vigilance which has already submitted a probe report.

The Devaswom Vigilance has found out that in August 2019, 14 pieces of gold-clad Dwarapalaka copper plates were handed over to Smart Creations by Potty. He directed them to utilise the gold earlier extracted as well as any leftover gold from the Dwarapalakas. The investigation records that, in September 2019, 14 items of gold-plated copper plates were handed over to Potty along with a gold certificate reflecting 394.9 grams. 

The recovery specialist extracted 409 grams of gold from the side frame initially handed over and 577 grams from the Dwarapalakas and other 14 items—totalling 989 grams. This total included 3 grams supplied by Potty. After securing permission, 393.9 grams was deducted for plating the Dwarapalakas and 9.9 grams for other Sabarimala items. 404.8 grams was used for plating. The inquiry states that in September 2019, the balance gold measuring 474.9 grams was handed to one Kalpesh, who was authorised by Potty. The records do not disclose that this gold was ever re-entrusted to the Travancore Devaswom Board, Devaswom Vigilance report showed.

Potty’s alleged aides and sponsors, Kalpesh and Nagesh, remain absconding. All members of the Travancore Devaswom Board in the year 2019 have been named as the eighth accused in the case. The then Devaswom Commissioner N Vasu, Thiruvabharanam Commissioner, Executive Officer, Administrative Officer, and Assistant Engineer have also been booked. The SIT conducted another inspection at the Sannidhanam on Thursday to collect additional evidence and re-measured the sanctum walls. The TDB has suspended two officials; Murari Babu and Sunilkumar in connection with the case.

Family members of Potty claimed they were not informed of his whereabouts after he was taken into custody, prompting his lawyer to accuse the team of violating custody procedures. Following media attention in the evening, Crime Branch officials later communicated details of the arrest to the family.

Earlier the Kerala High Court directed the SIT to register a case and probe the theft of 475 gm of gold from the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. The division bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice KV Jayakumar ordered the SIT to conduct an impartial probe and submit the inquiry report within six weeks. The court issued the direction after reviewing the investigation report presented by the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer (Superintendent of Police).