Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 20 (IANS) The investigation into the Sabarimala gold scam has intensified with the questioning of Anantha Subramaniam, a close associate of the arrested sponsor Unnikrishnan Potti, on Monday.

The special investigation team (SIT) questioned Subramaniam at the Crime Branch headquarters here, placing him alongside Potti for a joint interrogation.

According to investigators, Subramaniam was the one who physically transported the gold-plated panels from Sabarimala to Bengaluru and then to Hyderabad in 2019 at the height of Covid travel restrictions.

He is alleged to have handed them over to Nagesh, another suspect in the case.

The questioning takes place when the SIT is scheduled to submit a detailed progress report to the Kerala High Court on Tuesday.

Potti has reportedly told investigators that the theft was not carried out by him alone but was executed with the support of board members and Devaswom officials.

He claimed that the conspiracy was planned primarily in Bengaluru and Chennai, and that he acted only as an intermediary.

The upcoming report is expected to detail the findings from the SIT’s two-week-long operations in these cities and outline possible expansion of the investigation to include current Devaswom Board members, in addition to those previously in office.

The panels had been handed over to Potti by the current board in September for fresh gold plating.

The SIT has also identified a few others as suspects involved in the larger conspiracy centred in Bengaluru.

Even though notices have been served to a few others to appear for questioning, so far only Subramaniam has appeared.

Both the Congress and the BJP have by now organised a series of protests demanding the resignation of Devasom Minister V.N.Vasavan and the present Board members and a probe by a central agency.

The High Court has given the SIT six weeks to complete the probe.

–IANS

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