New Delhi, Dec 19 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been granted permission to register a case and initiate a probe into the Sabarimala gold theft after a vigilance court in Kerala’s Kollam rejected objections raised by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
In an order passed on Friday, the court directed that all documents related to the case including the FIR, remand reports and other connected records be handed over to the ED. The court dismissed the SIT’s contention that allowing the ED to investigate would amount to a parallel probe.
The order came on a petition filed by the ED, which sought access to the case records to examine alleged money-laundering aspects linked to the gold theft. The central agency told the court that key documents were necessary to trace financial transactions connected to the crime.
While the SIT maintained that it had no objection to a money-laundering investigation, it argued that a separate probe by the ED was unnecessary and could hamper efforts to identify additional accused. The prosecution further contended that sharing records might adversely affect the ongoing investigation.
The court, however, rejected these submissions and ruled that all case materials must be provided to the ED for further action.
In a related development, the Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed the bail pleas of former Travancore Devaswom Board president N. Vasu and former administrative officer Murari Babu, both of whom are accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case.
According to the prosecution, Vasu allegedly recorded gold sheets affixed to wooden planks of the sanctum sanctorum as copper sheets and recommended their removal. Murari Babu is accused of falsely documenting the gold sheets as copper, thereby facilitating the theft.
So far, seven people including six officials linked to the Travancore Devaswom Board and prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti have been arrested in the case and are currently in judicial custody.