Sabarimala Gold Theft Case: SIT Arrests Former TDB President P.S. Prasanth, Ex-Board Member Ajikumar
Kollam: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case on Thursday (July 23, 2026) formally recorded the arrest of former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P.S. Prasanth and former board member A. Ajikumar.
Both were taken into custody and are being interrogated at the Kollam Police Club. After the questioning, they will be produced before the Vigilance Court.
The case is related to the alleged unauthorised transport of the Sabarimala temple's Dwarapalaka sculptures to Chennai in 2025. P.S. Prasanth has been named as one of the accused in the case.
Murari Babu has been identified as the prime accused. The other accused include Unnikrishnan Potti (second accused), Pankaj Bhandari (third accused), A. Ajikumar (fifth accused), and Kandararu Rajeevaru (sixth accused).
Earlier, the Kerala High Court observed that there was "clear evidence" indicating P.S. Prasanth's involvement in the alleged conspiracy.
According to the SIT's latest report, the investigation has gathered evidence establishing the roles of all seven accused, who allegedly acted together as part of a pre-planned criminal conspiracy.
The SIT report states that the accused are alleged to have committed serious offences, including criminal breach of trust, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.