Ranni/ Pathanamthitta: The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Ranni, on Thursday remanded Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, to judicial custody. He will be lodged in the Thiruvananthapuram sub-jail.

Potty was earlier taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on October 17, following the court’s approval of the probe team’s custody request. He was produced before the court again on Thursday as his custody period expired. The SIT is expected to file a fresh plea soon, seeking an extension of his custody for further interrogation.

The 52-year-old, who served as an assistant to the Sabarimala priest between 2004 and 2008, is the prime accused in two cases connected to the gold theft. He was arrested from his residence in Pulimath, Thiruvananthapuram, on October 16, after the SIT received a tip-off that he was planning to abscond. His arrest was formally recorded in the wee hours of the following day after an interrogation led by Crime Branch Wayanad DySP S S Suresh Babu at the Crime Branch Central Unit-IV, Eanchakkal.

According to the remand report submitted by SIT head SP S Sasidharan, Potty had detailed knowledge of temple operations and the gold-plating work undertaken at Sabarimala in 1998. The report alleged that he procured around 2 kg of gold through breach of trust and cheating for personal financial gain.

The investigation revealed that Potty, in collusion with Devaswom Board officials, misrepresented gold-plated door panels of the sanctum sanctorum as copper plates and removed them from the temple premises. These were later transported to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh before reaching Chennai, where the gold was extracted. The SIT found that 394 grams of the stolen gold were used by Potty to cover idols, which were then displayed for monetary benefit, violating temple rituals. The report also indicated that Potty mobilised sponsors and obtained additional quantities of gold from them, keeping large amounts in his possession.

Those named as co-accused include Potty’s alleged aides, sponsors, and several Travancore Devaswom Board officials from 2019, including the then Devaswom Commissioner N Vasu, the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner, Executive Officer, Administrative Officer, and Assistant Engineer.

The SIT’s findings align with the earlier Devaswom Vigilance probe, which found that in August 2019, 14 pieces of gold-clad Dwarapalaka copper plates were handed over to Smart Creations in Chennai 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.