Sabarimala Gold Theft Case: P.S. Prashanth and A. Ajikumar Remanded Again
Kollam: The Vigilance Court has again remanded former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P.S. Prashanth and former board member A. Ajikumar, accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, until September 1.
The court is continuing its hearing on the bail applications filed by the two accused. The prosecution has presented strong evidence in the case. Both Prashanth and Ajikumar are also facing a separate case related to alleged irregularities involving ghee supplied to Sabarimala.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the gold theft case told the Kerala High Court that the key accused, including Unnikrishnan Potty, allegedly planned and carried out the re-gilding of the Dwarapalaka sculptures in 2025 with the alleged support of the Devaswom Board. According to the SIT, the exercise was intended to conceal the gold theft that had taken place in 2019.
Prashanth has been made an accused in the case concerning the transportation of the Dwarapalaka sculptures to Chennai in 2025. Murari Babu is the first accused, Unnikrishnan Potty the second, Pankaj Bhandari the third, Ajikumar the fifth, and Kandararu Rajeevar the sixth accused.
The Kerala High Court had earlier observed that there was clear evidence of a conspiracy against Prashanth. The SIT report states that the roles of the accused were established based on evidence collected during the investigation.
According to the investigation team, the accused acted together as part of a pre-planned criminal conspiracy. The SIT has alleged that the 2025 re-gilding was carried out as part of an effort to conceal the events surrounding the 2019 gold theft.