Kerala: High Court denies bail in Sabarimala gold theft case

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has rejected the bail applications of three accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case. Justice A Badharudeen dismissed the bail pleas of former Devaswom Board president N Vasu, former administrative officer Murari Babu, and former Thiruvabharanam Commissioner K S Baiju. Details of the order have not been released. Sabarimala gold sheets reached international antique mafia, businessman tells SIT

The accused had filed bail applications in connection with providing necessary facilities for the theft of gold from the gatekeeper idols and door frames at Sabarimala. The Sessions Court had earlier rejected their bail applications. N Vasu is the third accused in the case of gold plating the temple door frames under the pretext of copper plating. He was made an accused in the case when it was found that Commissioner N Vasu had instructed that the gold plating on the door frames be recorded as copper plating.
Murari Babu is the second accused in the case of gold plating the gatekeeper idols and the sixth accused in the case of handing over the temple door frames. K S Baiju is the seventh accused. Baiju was the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner at the time the Mahasar (inventory) was being prepared in 2019 and when the sheets were handed over to the first accused, Unnikrishnan Potty. Murari Babu and Baiju had filed bail applications in both cases.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will also register a case and investigate the Sabarimala gold theft case. The Kollam Vigilance Court has ordered that all documents related to the gold theft be handed over to the ED. The Special Investigation Team had opposed the ED conducting a parallel investigation in the case. The court rejected this and ruled in favor of the ED. The Special Investigation Team has been directed to hand over the remand reports and copies of the FIRs of those arrested in the case to the ED.