Items from the jeweler are recovered by the SIT team investigating the Sabarimala gold theft: report
Officials said on Friday that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) looking into the Sabarimala gold heist had retrieved more than 400 grams of gold and gold coins from a jeweler in Ballari.
Approximately ₹2,00,000 in cash was also taken from Unnikrishnan Potti, the main suspect, at his Pathanamthitta residence.
The jeweler Govardhan, who owns Roddam Jewellery in Ballari, was identified as the owner of the stolen gold by the SIT operation, which was headed by SP Sasidharan.
Mathrubhumi News, which broke the story initially, cited officials to claim that Unnikrishnan Potti, who is now being held by the SIT, sold the gold to Govardhan.
According to investigators, Potti and Govardhan became acquaintances at the Sri Rampura Ayyappa Swamy temple, where Potti sold the stolen wealth after participating in ceremonies while posing as a Sabarimala priest.
After Potti recovered, SIT brought him back to the Sri Rampura shrine to collect further evidence.
The Mathrubhumi report states that Govardhan bought 476 grams of gold that Potti had sold in 2019 for market value. Numerous transactions between the two are purportedly confirmed by financial documents.
A wider network was also discovered by the inquiry. On Potti’s orders, Chennai-based Smart Creations reportedly gave part of the gold to intermediaries, including one called Kalpesh.
In 1998, entrepreneur Vijay Mallya contributed 30.3 kg of gold and 1,900 kg of copper for the sanctuary and woodwork sculptures of the Sabarimala temple. Following an assessment by the Kerala High Court, it was discovered that the gold-plated covers had significantly lost their weight, which raised concerns about possible theft and corruption within the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).
According to background research, the TDB sent gold-clad plates of the guardian god Dwarapalaka to Potti for electroplating in 2019.
He is accused of bringing these plates throughout South Indian temples and private homes without permission.
Following electroplating at a company in Chennai, the plates were allegedly shown at a number of places in Bengaluru, Kerala, and Chennai.
Based in Bengaluru, Potti had previously worked at a nearby temple. Authorities pointed out that some of his sponsored projects at Sabarimala were paid for by Karnataka residents.
He is now the main suspect in two different incidents involving the missing gold—one from the Sreekovil door frames and the other from the Dwarapalaka plates.
Potti is still being held in relation to the missing gold from the Dwarapalaka plates. The scope of his activities and the whole network behind the gold heist at Sabarimala are still being investigated by SIT.