Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 11 (IANS) The Crime Branch wing of the Kerala Police on Saturday formally registered a case in connection with the suspected gold plate scam at the Sabarimala temple.

Earlier, the Kerala High Court formed a special investigation team consisting of five Police officials under Crime Branch chief ADG of Police H. Venkitesh.

The case has now been handed over to Venkitesh for further action.

The 10 people who have been named in the case include ‘sponsor’ Unnikrishnan Potti, his aides, and officials of the Devaswom Board.

The charges include theft, forgery, breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy.

Preliminary findings point to major procedural violations during the transfer of the gold plates on July 19 and 20, 2019.

The Devaswom Vigilance report indicates collusion between officials and contractors.

The gold plates were reportedly moved from Kerala to Bengaluru and then Hyderabad within ten days, bypassing standard protocols.

While the initial Vigilance report cited 989 grams of gold as missing, subsequent findings suggest that the actual quantity could be far higher.

Mahazar records maintained by the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner indicate that the original plates may have been swapped or diverted.

The role of Smart Creations, the firm that handled the plating work, is now under scrutiny.

While the company claims it does not melt gold, it admitted to doing so on behalf of Potti, its regular client.

The SIT is expected to employ scientific testing to determine whether the original gold plates were melted or replaced.

The case, involving one of Kerala’s most revered temples, is expected to widen further with more arrests and evidence-based action in the coming days.

Both the Congress-led UDF and the BJP, ever since the scam surfaced, have been demanding the resignation of the Devasom Minister V.N. Vasavan and the Devasom Board members.

The last four days of the assembly session ended in uproar, with the Congress-led UDF opposition raising this issue.

–IANS

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