“Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala High Court has alleged that “great forces”were behind Unnikrishnan Potti, the main accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, saying he is just the last link of a big chain.” The court stressed the need for a speedy and accurate investigation of the matter. Today, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) submitted its interim investigation report in a closed courtroom.
In order to maintain privacy, the high court decided to file a fresh petition suo motu. The existing party, Unnikrishnan Potty and the ‘Smart Creations’ company, will be excluded from the current petition. A Devaswam bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar made it clear that the government, Travancore Devaswam Board and police will be made parties in the new suo motu cognizance petition.
The court also said that the action taken by the then Travancore Devaswam Board Chairman and Devaswam Commissioner during the gold theft incident was suspicious. The court said the stand by the chairman of the Devaswam Board in favour of Unnikrishnan Potty cannot be taken lightly. The high court further said that there are serious suspicions of violation of the Devaswam Rules.
Instructions for investigation of correspondence and conspiracies
The court directed the SIT to conduct a thorough investigation into the two-year correspondence and conspiracies related to the case. The high court also indicated that Devaswom officials may be aware of the whereabouts of the 500 grams of missing gold. Confirming that Unnikrishnan Potty’s intentions were not good. The high court directed the SIT to prepare a final report after examining all relevant documents.
The Devaswam bench recalled that the case affects not only the credibility of the Kerala Police but also the credibility of the High Court. The case will be heard again next month. The list of valuables is being made in Sabarimala under the leadership of retired Justice KT Shankaran. The high court had earlier ordered the formation of an SIT on the basis of the Devaswam alert report, which directed a comprehensive probe to bring all the convicts to justice.
Interrogation of Unnikrishnan Potty
Meanwhile, the SIT questioned Anant Subramanian, a friend of Unnikrishnan Potti, who had allegedly obtained Dwarpalaka Kavach (door guard cover) from Sannidhanam in 2019 and later released him. Anant Subramanian’s involvement was specifically mentioned in the Devaswam Vigilance Report. Against this backdrop, he was brought to Thiruvananthapuram from Bengaluru on Monday morning and detained for questioning. Officers of the special investigation team first questioned Anant Subramanian alone and then Unnikrishnan Potty.
It is believed that several steps, including arrests, can be taken if Anant Subramanian is not able to give a satisfactory answer. The investigation team has found that Anant Subramanian was the person who obtained the old gold plates and took them to Bengaluru. After this, he allegedly handed over these plates to a man named Nagesh in Hyderabad as per the instructions of Unnikrishnan Potty.
Subramanian was aware of Unnikrishnan Potty’s transaction
Devaswom Vigilance and SIT assess that Anant Subramanian was fully aware of all the transactions of Unnikrishnan Potty and Potti handed over the gold plates to Subramanian because of the deep trust between them. However, despite the investigation reaching out to Anant Subramanian, several other high-ranking officials of the Devaswam board, named in the list of accused, are yet to be questioned. This has raised concerns that the matter may be limited to Unnikrishnan Potti only.
It is alleged that the reluctance to question officials like Murari Babu, who is on the list of the accused, arises of fear that the scope of the investigation could reach the leadership of the then Devaswom Board and the political establishment. However, despite the scope of the investigation reaching Anant Subramanian, several other high-ranking officials of the Devaswam board included in the list of the accused are yet to be questioned.
This has raised concerns that the case may be limited to Unnikrishnan Potti only. It is alleged that the unwillingness to interrogate officials like Murari Babu, who is on the list of the accused, probably stems from the fear that the scope of the investigation could reach the then Devaswam Board leadership and the political establishment.
