ED gets nod to probe Sabarimala gold theft as court rejects SIT objections
The SIT had opposed the move, arguing that an ED probe would amount to a parallel investigation and could hamper efforts to identify additional accused.
The SIT had opposed the move, arguing that an ED probe would amount to a parallel investigation and could hamper efforts to identify additional accused.
The SIT had opposed the move, arguing that an ED probe would amount to a parallel investigation and could hamper efforts to identify additional accused.
Kollam: The Directorate of Enforcement has been cleared to register a case and launch an investigation into the Sabarimala gold theft after a vigilance court in Kollam rejected objections raised by the Special Investigation Team.
In an order passed on Friday, the court directed that all documents related to the case, including the FIR, remand report and other connected records, be handed over to the ED. The direction came on a petition filed by the central agency seeking access to the records to examine alleged money-laundering aspects linked to the theft.
The SIT had opposed the move, arguing that an ED probe would amount to a parallel investigation and could hamper efforts to identify additional accused. While the team said it had no objection to a money-laundering probe, it maintained that a separate investigation by the ED was unnecessary.
The ED, however, told the court that key documents such as the FIR and remand report were essential to trace financial transactions connected to the case. Accepting this submission, the court dismissed the SIT’s objections and ordered that all records be made available to the agency.
In a related development, the Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed the bail pleas of former Travancore Devaswom Board president N Vasu and former administrative officer Murari Babu, who are among the accused in the Sabarimala gold theft cases.
The case against Vasu alleges that he recorded the gold sheets affixed to the wooden planks of the sanctum sanctorum as copper sheets and recommended their removal. Murari Babu is accused of falsely recording the gold sheets as copper, thereby creating conditions that facilitated the theft.
So far, seven people have been arrested in the case and remanded in custody, including six officials associated with the Travancore Devaswom Board and the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty.