SIT confirms involvement in crime: Three more accused in Sabarimala gold robbery case

KOCHI: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has informed the High Court that three more people will be made accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case. The SIT has clarified in the court that two people will be made accused in the Dwarapalaka panel case and one person in the Kattilepalli case. The SIT explained that further investigation was conducted into the involvement of a total of four people and the involvement of three people in the crime was confirmed.

Meanwhile, the High Court has directed the Special Investigation Team to collect and test the samples of the Sabarimala gold layer again. The samples were initially sent to the VSSC for testing. The SIT had requested the High Court's permission to conduct testing at another agency. This has now been accepted by the High Court. The new tests will examine whether the panels were altered in any way and how much gold is currently present on them.

The hearing of the case was held in a closed room. It is reported that the court has also given some instructions to the investigating officers in the case. Today, the court examined some witnesses. A special investigation will also be conducted on the flagpole in Sabarimala. The court said that it was an interim order in the case. The case will be considered again on February 19.

The SIT had also submitted a progress report to the High Court. The court, which examined the report, had raised some doubts. It was decided to re-test the samples of the layers after the VSSC was unable to clarify this. The confusion in the VSSC report centres on whether the original gold-plated copper sheets were completely removed and replaced with new ones. The report did not give a clear conclusion. In 1998, the UB Group had used mercury to gold-plate the copper sheets of the Sabarimala sanctum. However, the test report found that traces of mercury were almost absent in some of the sheets. Sources said fresh samples will be collected after the temple reopens next week for the monthly pooja.