ED questions former TDB officer citing money laundering in Sabarimala gold loss case

Kochi: Former TDB administrative officer S Sreekumar was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate on Friday here as part of its probe into the money laundering angle of the Sabarimala gold loss incident, officials said.

Sreekumar is the sixth accused in the case related to the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idol plates being probed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). He was granted bail by a Kollam vigilance court on January 29.

He was not arraigned as an accused in the second case involving the loss of gold from the doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum).

ED sources said that following a summons, Sreekumar appeared at the agency’s office here around 10 am.

According to ED officials, Sreekumar was the administrative officer at Sabarimala when the Dwarapalaka idols were taken to Chennai for gold plating, and he had signed the related documents.

Recently, the ED had interrogated another former TDB administrative officer, Murari Babu.

ED sources said that the accused in the two cases being probed by the SIT are also facing a money laundering investigation and would be questioned.

The ED will soon issue summons to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty, who was released from jail after securing statutory bail in the SIT case on Thursday.