Potty gets bail in Sabarimala door frame gold theft case, barred from talking to media, SIT says money transactions suspicious
The prosecution case was that sacred artefacts of the temple were illegally handed over to Potty under the pretext of repairs and re-plating works at Smart Creations, Chennai.
The prosecution case was that sacred artefacts of the temple were illegally handed over to Potty under the pretext of repairs and re-plating works at Smart Creations, Chennai.
The prosecution case was that sacred artefacts of the temple were illegally handed over to Potty under the pretext of repairs and re-plating works at Smart Creations, Chennai.
The Vigilance Court, Kollam, on Thursday granted bail to Unnikrishnan Potty in the case related to the misappropriation of gold from the door frames of the sanctum sanctorum of the Ayyappa temple, Sabarimala. Judge C S Mohit has barred Potty from talking to the media in any manner touching upon the facts and circumstances of the crime under investigation. He has been asked not to leave the state or enter Pathanamthitta district without the court's permission.
Potty has been directed to execute a bond with two solvent sureties each for an amount of ₹2 lakh. He will have to surrender his passport also. Potty will have to appear before the Investigating officer, Crime Branch, Thiruvananthapuram, on every Friday and Tuesday between 10 am and 1 pm without fail and until further orders.
The prosecution case was that sacred artefacts of the temple were illegally handed over to Potty under the pretext of repairs and re-plating works at Smart Creations, Chennai. Potty was initially arrested for alleged theft of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols in October 2025 and was earlier granted bail. The SIT arrested him in the second case on November 3, 2025, and he was in judicial custody for more than 90 days. In January 2026, his first bail application was dismissed by the court.
The SIT strongly objected to the second bail plea. According to the SIT, Potty was fully aware of the gold cladding work done by the United Breweries in 1998 in Sabarimala. He made use of his influence and connections to illegally influence the officials, the staff of the Travancore Devaswom Board and other stakeholders to effect the illegal transfer and entrustment of the sacred artefacts and their transportation to Chennai.
The SIT also told the court that the artefacts were removed without complying with the directions in the Devaswom manuals and without conducting the 'Anunja' ceremony to obtain permission of the lord. The agency is currently verifying the bank transactions of the petitioners and suspicious financial transactions, and that investigation is in progress in Chennai and Bellari in Karnataka, the SIT informed the court, adding that the entire gold has not been recovered.