Sabarimala gold theft accused Unnikrishnan Potti gets bail in second case too

Thiruvanathapuram: Prime accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, Bengaluru-based Malayali Unnikrishnan Potti, was granted bail on Thursday in the second case pertaining to looting of gold from the door frames of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.

Now, he will be released from judicial custody.

Potti had earlier secured bail in the case pertaining to the theft of gold from the 'Dwarapalaka' sculptors of the Sabarimala temple.

The Vigilance court in Kollam district granted bail to Potti as the special investigation team did not file chargesheet within 90 days after his arrest.

Earlier three others accused also got bail. While former administrative officer of Travancore Devaswom Board Murari Babu and former executive officer Sudheesh Kumar were granted bail on the same grounds of not filing chargesheets within 90 days of arrest, former administrative officer S Sreekumar was granted bail citing lack of evidence.

With Potti also getting bail, the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front will be stepping up attacks against the CPM-led Left Democratic Front government. Already Congress raised an allegation that the SIT was under pressure from the Chief Minister's office to sabotage the probe as CPM leaders were also accused in the case and the connections of Potti with former Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran had come out.

LDF is countering the Congress's allegation by citing Kerala High Court's remarks that the probe by SIT was progressing in the right direction. Congress was also using the pictures of Potti as well as another accused in the case  Bellary-based jeweler Gowardhan visiting AICC top leader Sonia Gandhi at her Delhi residence along with Congress MPs Adoor Prakash and Anto Antony earlier.

Meanwhile, the state assembly was disrupted on Thursday also with the opposition UDF staging a protest over the Sabarimala issue. Opposition leader V D Satheesan expressed concerns that once the accused were released on bail the evidence in the case could be tampered with.