Sabarimala gold scam: SIT records fourth arrest, former Thiruvabharanam commissioner held
He has been named as the seventh accused in the case.
He has been named as the seventh accused in the case.
He has been named as the seventh accused in the case.
Pathanamthitta: In a major development in the probe into the Sabarimala gold scam, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Branch has arrested KS Baiju, former Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of the temple on Thursday. He has been named as the seventh accused in the case. With this, the SIT has recorded four arrests so far in the controversial case.
Baiju is facing charges for his alleged involvement in swindling gold from the panels of the Dwarapalaka idols. The probe team recorded his arrest after interrogating him at the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram's Enchakkal. The accused will be produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Ranni here.
The SIT found that Baiju was not present at the shrine when the gold plates were removed and handed over to Potty for electroplating work in 2019. As the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of the Travancore Devaswom Board, he was responsible for taking complete stock of the valuables and record on the mahzar before they were moved elsewhere. However, it is learnt that he deliberately skipped this procedure as part of the conspiracy. Baiju had retired from service in 2019.
It is also suspected that Baiju is part of the big conspiracy hatched by Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused to loot gold at the temple under the guise of renovation works.
SIT had earlier arrested the Potty, former administrative officer Murari Babu and former Sabarimala Executive Officer D Sudheesh Kumar.
According to the SIT, Potty had received the gold-clad plates of the Dwarapalaka idols from the TDB for electroplating in 2019. He allegedly transported them without authorisation to various temples and private residences across South India. The gold scam came to light after the Kerala High Court, acting on a suo motu petition, ordered an inquiry into the removal of the Dwarapalaka idols’ claddings for gold plating without prior court approval. During hearings, the bench noted that the weight of the gold had reportedly reduced by around 4 kg after the idols were handed over to Potty in 2019.
On October 10, the Kerala High Court ordered the Special Investigation Team of Crime Branch to register a case and start the probe after the devaswom vigilance in irs probe report confirmed irregularities in the documents related to gold in the Dwarapalaka idols and door of the sanctum sanctorum.