2 months ago
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KOLLAM
The Kollam Vigilance tribunal connected Thursday granted statutory bail to 2 much accused successful the Sabarimala golden theft case. Govardhan, a jewellery store proprietor from Bellary, and Pankaj Bhandari, proprietor of the Chennai-based Smart Creations, walked retired of jailhouse arsenic the peculiar probe squad (SIT) failed to record a chargesheet wrong the mandatory 90-day period.
With this, 10 of the 12 accused successful the lawsuit person present managed to unafraid bail. Among those antecedently released connected statutory bail are archetypal accused Unnikrishnan Potti, erstwhile Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) administrative serviceman Murari Babu, erstwhile TDB enforcement serviceman D. Sudheesh Kumar, erstwhile TDB president and commissioner N. Vasu, erstwhile TDB enforcement serviceman S. Sreekumar, and erstwhile TDB president Padmakumar. Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru and erstwhile Thiruvabharanam commissioner K.S. Baiju had been granted regular bail by the tribunal earlier.
The SIT astatine contiguous holds lone 2 accused successful custody - erstwhile Devaswom committee members N. Vijayakumar and K.P. Sankaradas. However, Mr. Vijayakumar is expected to implicit his 90-day remand play adjacent week.
While the SIT maintains that the merchandise of the accused could perchance hamper the ongoing investigation, the squad is yet to taxable adjacent a preliminary chargesheet to the court.
The Devaswom Bench of the High Court has taken a steadfast stance connected the matter, directing the SIT to taxable a broad and flawless chargesheet by March 31.
