Kochi: Former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar’s Bail was rejected by Kollam Vigilance Court on Wednesday in connection with the gold loot from the Sabarimala temple.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the cases informed the High Court on Tuesday it had found a “larger plan” by the accused to dismantle other gold-cladded plates from the Lord Ayyappa temple and misappropriate the precious metal.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the cases on Tuesday
opposed the bail pleas of Padmakumar and Roddam Pandurangaiah Naga Govardhan, a jeweller from Ballari in Karnataka.
The SIT also told the court that it had found evidence of serious official misconduct, administrative lapses and a criminal conspiracy aimed at misappropriating gold from various temple artefacts.
The SIT alleged that Padmakumar committed grave official misconduct by deliberately making false entries in official correspondence, which facilitated the misappropriation of gold, caused unlawful financial loss and reputational damage to the TDB.
Govardhan and Unnikrishnan Potty, the key accused in the case, were arrested by the SIT on December 19 last year.
The High Court has adjourned the bail pleas of Padmakumar and Govardhan to January 8 while allowing the SIT six more weeks to complete the investigation. Over 10 people have been arrested in connection with the two cases.
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No bail for Padmakumar
