Sabarimala gold theft case: SIT raids residence of D Mani in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: In connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Friday conducted a raid at the residence of D Mani, alias Balamurugan, who is under the shadow of allegations in the case.

The search is underway at his house in the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu. As part of the probe, the SIT had earlier questioned Mani’s associate Sreekrishnan.

Meanwhile, a businessman has revealed that D Mani’s group had allegedly planned large-scale thefts targeting temples in Kerala. According to the disclosure, the gang had aimed at a theft worth nearly Rs 1,000 crore. In addition to Sabarimala, the group had planned to commit fraud at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, sources said.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala made public the businessman’s claims. The businessman had further stated in his testimony that the gang sold Panchaloha idols taken from Sabarimala to an international antique smuggling racket.

The Sabarimala gold controversy centres on allegations of irregularities in the gold plating at the Sabarimala temple. This situation arose from a donation of 30.3 kilograms of gold and 1,900 kilograms of copper by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998, intended for the cladding of the sanctum sanctorum and the wooden carvings of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala.

Earlier this week, the SIT arrested Smart Creation CEO Pankaj Bhandari and Karnataka’s Bellary-based jewellery owner Govardhan in the Sabarimala gold theft case, said Kerala DGP Ravada Chandrasekhar.

On November 26, the SIT took into custody A. Padmakumar, former Sabarimala Executive Committee President and a CPI(M) Pathanamthitta district committee member, in connection with the sanctum gold heist case. Padmakumar, who also served as a former Konni MLA, was taken into custody after the Kollam Vigilance Court approved the SIT’s request. He had earlier been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.

Earlier, on November 7, the SIT arrested former Thiruvabharanam temple Commissioner K.S. Baiju, while the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, was taken into custody on October 17. The SIT has submitted multiple reports to the Kerala High Court, pointing to serious irregularities in the Travancore Devaswom Board’s records. (ANI)