Kochi, Jan 21 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Wednesday came down heavily in the Sabarimala gold heist case, observing that what occurred at Sabarimala amounted to an organised plunder and that the accused had acted in concert to loot the assets of Lord Ayyappa.Justice A. Badharudeen made these remarks while dismissing the bail pleas of former Travancore Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar and co-accused Govardhan and Murari Babu.The order was issued on petitions that had earlier been reserve…
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Bengaluru, Jan 20 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) was conducting simultaneous raids in Karnataka’s Bengaluru and Ballari in connection with the sensational theft case of 4.5 kilograms of gold from the famous Sabarimala Ayyappa Swamy temple in Kerala. The raids were being carried out at the residences and properties of the main accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, and other trustees, officials said on Tuesday.Raids are underway at the Roddam Jewellery shop in Ballari and at the premises of its ow…
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 20 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Tuesday, intensified its probe into the alleged money laundering angle of the Sabarimala gold robbery case, launching coordinated raids at 21 locations across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.In all, the SIT has by now arrested 13 people, all of whom are in judicial custody.The searches come even as a Special Investigation Team (SIT), functioning under the supervision of the Kerala High Court, continues its parallel criminal …
Kochi, Jan 19 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Monday made scathing observations in the Sabarimala gold theft case, strongly reinforcing suspicions that the gold plates at Lord Ayyappa’s sanctum were systematically removed as part of a planned plunder of Devaswom assets.The Division Bench described the existing inspection reports as “grave and alarming” and raised serious doubts over whether those entrusted with safeguarding temple properties themselves led the alleged crime.While consideri…
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 19 (IANS) Kerala Revenue Minister K. Rajan on Monday sought to play down the Pala sub-court verdict on the Cheruvally Estate, asserting that the ruling does not amount to a setback for the Pinarayi Vijayan-led State government.The Pinarayi Vijayan government was going ahead with the project, which, if cleared will become the fifth airport in the state.He maintained that the court had flagged only procedural lapses and had not delivered a conclusive finding on the ownershi…
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 17 (IANS) Former Travancore Devaswom Board member and senior CPI leader K.P. Sankaradas, arrested in connection with the Sabarimala gold heist case, was shifted from a private hospital to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital on Saturday evening, even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) accelerated the probe ahead of a crucial deadline set by the Kerala High Court.Sankaradas was taken into custody on Wednesday while undergoing treatment at a private hospital…
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 16 (IANS) A 2012 order issued by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) Commissioner, which surfaced on Friday, has come under sharp focus in the wake of the Sabarimala gold heist case, raising serious questions about the 2017 handing over of the temple’s ‘Vajivahanam’ to the arrested tantri, Kantarar Rajeevar, who is in judicial custody.In 2017, the then UDF-appointed Travancore Devaswom Board, headed by former Congress MLA Prayar Gopalakrishnan, handed over the Vajivahan…
Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 15 (IANS) The Kerala High Court issued notices to 20 BJP councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation over the manner in which they took their oath of office, after observing that the oath appeared to have been administered in the names of multiple deities instead of in the name of God as prescribed under municipal rules.The BJP created history in December last year, when for the first time it won a Corporation in Kerala.A division bench sought to know how an o…
Kochi, Jan 15 (IANS) The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Thursday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged financial irregularities in the sale of Adiya Sishtam Ghee at the Sabarimala temple, acting on strong observations and directions issued by the Kerala High Court earlier this week.The special team will be headed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Mahesh Kumar.The development comes at a time when Sabarimala is already under intense public and institutional…
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 14 (IANS) The investigation into the high-profile Sabarimala gold theft case took a decisive turn on Wednesday with the arrest of former Travancore Devaswom Board member K.P. Sankaradas.The arrest was formally recorded by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, where Sankaradas has been undergoing treatment.With this, the total number of arrests made in the case has risen to 13.A team led by Superintendent of Police S.P. Sashidhar…