Court Dismisses Bail in Sabarimala Gold Loss Case

The Kollam Vigilance Court on Monday dismissed bail requests filed by a former Travancore Devaswom Board member involved in two Sabarimala gold loss cases. Judge Mohit CS made the decision after evaluating medical records presented by K P Sankara Das, the 15th accused in one case concerning the alleged gold loss from Dwarapalaka idols and the 11th in another related to gold loss from Sreekovil doorframes.

Advocate G Mohanraj argued medical grounds for bail, but the court stood firm. Sankara Das, a former board member when gold artefacts were handed to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty for replating in 2019, had recently been hospitalized due to health issues and was arrested on January 14 by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Seven individuals, including Unnikrishnan Potty, have secured bail. The SIT plans to submit their chargesheet to the Kerala High Court by March 31. Meanwhile, other accused, including former board member N Vijayakumar and jeweller Govardhan Roddam, have also filed for bail.