Unnikrishnan Potti, the main accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, has filed a petition in a court in Kollam, Kerala, seeking statutory bail in the second case registered against him. Potti, who had earlier obtained bail in the case related to theft of gold from the plates of the gatekeeper's idol, has now moved the Kollam Vigilance Court to seek relief in the second case related to theft of gold from the door frames of Srikovil.
He filed a petition in the court on Saturday because even after 90 days of his arrest, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has not yet filed the charge sheet. The court has decided to consider the petition on Monday. According to the police, if bail is granted then Potti will be released from jail.
According to SIT officials, in 2019, Potti had taken the initiative to get electroplating done on the gold-plated gatekeeper statues and door frames of Srikovil. The electroplating work was done at a firm in Chennai, and the SIT suspects that the loss of gold occurred during this process.
Earlier, two administrative officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) were released from jail after they were granted bail by the court. Apart from Potti, the court will also consider the bail pleas filed by former TDB executive officer D Sudheesh Kumar, who has completed 90 days of judicial custody in both the cases. Kumar is the third accused in the Dwarpalka gold theft case and the fifth accused in the Srikovil door frame case.
There are 16 accused in the case related to Dwarpalaka gold theft and 13 accused in the Srikovil door frame case. SIT officials said a detailed investigation has been conducted, but the delay in filing charge sheets in both the cases is due to the pending scientific test results. The SIT aims to file the charge sheet within this month.
Last week, a single judge of the Kerala High Court, while considering the bail plea filed by an accused in the case, criticized the delay in filing the chargesheet by the SIT, which had resulted in the accused being granted statutory bail.
