6 months ago
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The Kerala High Court-appointed peculiar probe squad (SIT) probing the misappropriation of gold-plated panels from the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple is reportedly weighing the imaginable usage of portable physics metallic testers to quantify the magnitude of golden successful the archetypal gilded moulds donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya to screen the iconic shrine’s chromatic carvings, sloping extortion and sculptures successful 1998.
Officials said specified devices, which usage X-ray-based exertion for on-the-spot analysis, mightiness assistance investigators estimation the golden contented of the archetypal alloy encasings without damaging them. Other options were reportedly connected the array arsenic well.
Officials said investigating the golden contented successful the extortion panels and different encasings would possibly supply the SIT with a baseline for comparing the metallurgical quality of the archetypal gilded panels with those returned to the temple aft restoration by the premier accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, successful 2019.
Officials said the SIT appeared to beryllium pursuing an ‘investigate-first-and-indict-later’ attack successful the high-profile case.
A metallurgical examination of the archetypal panels with those returned aft restoration could supply the SIT with a technological ground and foolproof forensic grounds to clinch its embezzlement lawsuit against the suspects.
Officials pointed retired that the High Court had tasked the SIT with reweighing the panels returned aft restoration, archetypal successful 2019 and aboriginal successful 2025, to observe discrepancies, if any, and besides acceptable a wide template for the existent signifier of the investigation.
Loose ends
They said the SIT has to necktie up respective escaped ends successful the case. It has truthful acold arrested 3 persons, including Mr. Potti and TDB administrative serviceman Murari Babu, and enforcement serviceman D. Sudheesh Kumar, successful the politically delicate and religiously emotive case.
In tribunal filings, the SIT has indicted the TDB officials for facilitating the suspected fraud by “wilfully certifying” the gold-plated panels arsenic made of unalloyed copper successful 2019.
It subsequently questioned N. Vasu, erstwhile Devaswom Board Commissioner, but had yet to sanction him successful the archetypal accusation study (FIR).
Next signifier
Officials said the adjacent signifier of the probe mightiness impact examining whether the suspects had smelted the panels for golden oregon replicated the moulds successful cheaper alloys to merchantability the archetypal gilded encasings to affluent collectors.
Notably, they said, the SIT was apt to instrumentality a telephone connected whether oregon not to indict the absorption of the Chennai-based metallic works factory, which Mr. Potti had contracted to refurbish the coverings to their archetypal aureate sheen.
Furthermore, according to officials, the SIT mightiness interrogation celebrities, including movie stars, who allegedly abetted Mr. Potti’s bid to monetise the gilded panels entrusted to him for restoration, by chartering the artefacts for backstage worship.
Closed-door meeting
Meanwhile, the SIT chief, Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order and Crime Branch, H. Venkatesh, and Investigating Officer P. Sasidharan, were chairing a closed-door gathering astatine the State Police Crime Branch Office astatine Enchackal, Thiruvananthapuram, reportedly to illustration the adjacent signifier of the probe.
