SIT arrests former Thiruvabharanam Commissioner in Sabarimala gold theft case

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold misappropriation case on Thursday arrested another former Travancore Devaswom Board official in connection with the case.

The official has been identified as K.S. Baiju, who retired as the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) in July 2019.

Investigators alleged that Mr. Baiju committed a deliberate lapse by being absent from Sabarimala while gold-plated copper plates on the Dwarapalaka idols were dismantled and handed over to the sponsor of the gold-plating work in 2019.

He is also accused of failing to deputise any other responsible official or the TDB staff to supervise the work in his absence. Mr. Baiju is the seventh accused in the case.

He is currently being interrogated at the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram and is scheduled to be produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate on Friday.

Meanwhile, the SIT has sought court permission to take former Sabarimala officials Murari Babu and D. Sudheesh Kumar back into custody for further interrogation.

The petition was filed before the Ranni court, citing the need for additional time to question the accused in connection with discrepancies found in the temple’s structural components.

The SIT maintained that further custodial interrogation was essential to gather more technical and documentary evidence linked to the suspected misappropriation of temple property.

The court will also likely consider Mr. Babu’s bail plea on Friday. Meanwhile, former Devaswom Board Secretary Jayashree has approached the Pathanamthitta Sessions Court seeking anticipatory bail, citing kidney-related health issues.

Ms. Jayashree had earlier moved the Kerala High Court, which directed her to approach the trial court instead.

Official sources said the team is currently examining the composition, dimensions, and structure of the door frames as part of evidence verification. The SIT has already carried out multiple visits to the Sannidhanam for on-site inspections and may bring the prime accused, former priest-turned-businessman Unnikrishnan Potti, to the hill shrine again for further verification.