Breakthrough in Sabarimala gold robbery; Special Investigation Team arrests two more people

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested two people in the Sabarimala gold heist. Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Smart Creations Company, who extracted gold from the Dwarpalaka sculpture, and Govardhan, the owner of a jewellery shop in Bellary who bought the stolen gold, have been arrested.

There are indications that the first accused in the case, Unnikrishnan Potty, and Pankaj Bhandari are close. The gold plates smuggled from Sabarimala were taken to Smart Creations. The gold was extracted there. The Special Investigation Team found that the extracted gold was given to Govardhanan through an intermediary named Kalpesh.

The High Court today severely criticised the Special Investigation Team. There were serious remarks in the order rejecting the bail plea of ​​the accused in the case. The court has warned against showing complacency in the investigation of the case. The court criticised the delay and complacency shown by the investigation team in arresting some of the main accused. The court also directed that the investigation should be taken to the higher authorities. The court also asked the investigation team why Devaswom Board members Shankardas and Vijayakumar were not made accused.