Sabarimala gold theft: Former administrative officer S Sreekumar remanded for 14 days

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former administrative officer S Sreekumar, who was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case, has been remanded for 14 days. The order was issued by the Kollam Vigilance Court. Sreekumar was one of the officials who signed the mahazar related to handing over the gold sheets removed from the Dwarapalaka statues to Unnikrishnan Potty in 2019. He was arrested after the High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. However, Sreekumar has maintained that as an official, he had only processed the file based on directions from higher authorities.

Meanwhile, the Kollam Vigilance Court extended the judicial remand of former Devaswom Board president and ex-MLA A Padmakumar by 14 more days in the case related to the theft of gold sheets from the Dwarapalaka statues at the Sabarimala temple. His remand period in the case related to the theft of gold from the door frame is set to expire on Thursday.

The bail application filed by Padmakumar in the Dwarapalaka gold theft case will be considered on the 22nd. The court has sought a report from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in this matter. Meanwhile, Unnikrishnan Potty and Murari Babu, who were earlier placed in SIT custody, were produced before the court again on Tuesday evening and remanded to jail. Murari Babu was placed in SIT custody for two days in the case related to the theft of gold sheets from the Dwarapalaka statues, while Unnikrishnan Potty was remanded in the case related to the theft of gold sheets from the door frame. The court had allowed SIT custody after the team sought further questioning based on newly obtained evidence. Public Prosecutor Siju Rajan appeared for the prosecution.