6 months ago
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The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala golden misappropriation lawsuit connected Thursday arrested different erstwhile Travancore Devaswom Board authoritative successful transportation with the case.
The authoritative has been identified arsenic K.S. Baiju, who retired arsenic the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) successful July 2019.
Investigators alleged that Mr. Baiju committed a deliberate lapse by being absent from Sabarimala portion gold-plated copper plates connected the Dwarapalaka idols were dismantled and handed implicit to the sponsor of the gold-plating enactment successful 2019.
He is besides accused of failing to deputise immoderate different liable authoritative oregon the TDB unit to supervise the enactment successful his absence. Mr. Baiju is the seventh accused successful the case.
He is presently being interrogated astatine the Crime Branch bureau successful Thiruvananthapuram and is scheduled to beryllium produced earlier the Judicial First Class Magistrate connected Friday.
Meanwhile, the SIT has sought tribunal support to instrumentality erstwhile Sabarimala officials Murari Babu and D. Sudheesh Kumar backmost into custody for further interrogation.
The petition was filed earlier the Ranni court, citing the request for further clip to question the accused successful transportation with discrepancies recovered successful the temple’s structural components.
The SIT maintained that further custodial interrogation was indispensable to stitchery much method and documentary grounds linked to the suspected misappropriation of temple property.
The tribunal volition besides apt see Mr. Babu’s bail plea connected Friday. Meanwhile, erstwhile Devaswom Board Secretary Jayashree has approached the Pathanamthitta Sessions Court seeking anticipatory bail, citing kidney-related wellness issues.
Ms. Jayashree had earlier moved the Kerala High Court, which directed her to attack the proceedings tribunal instead.
Official sources said the squad is presently examining the composition, dimensions, and operation of the doorway frames arsenic portion of grounds verification. The SIT has already carried retired aggregate visits to the Sannidhanam for on-site inspections and whitethorn bring the premier accused, erstwhile priest-turned-businessman Unnikrishnan Potti, to the elevation shrine again for further verification.
