Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 20 (PTI) The SIT probing the Sabarimala temple gold missing case arrested former TDB president A Padmakumar here on Thursday, police officials said.
The former CPI(M) MLA was questioned at the Crime Branch office, after which his arrest was recorded in the afternoon, an official said.
He was produced before the Vigilance Court in Kollam at night and remanded to judicial custody.
Police said a petition seeking Padmakumar’s custody will be filed before the court soon.
According to sources, Padmakumar was arrested in connection with the disappearance of gold from the sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames after he was named as an accused in the case.
Padmakumar was TDB president in 2019 when the board considered a proposal to hand over the gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the Sreekovil door frames to the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, for electroplating.
Although Padmakumar has denied any role in approving the proposal, the Special Investigation Team maintains that the file was processed by the board under his leadership in 2019.
Officials said Padmakumar had been asked to appear for questioning twice this month but had sought more time. He appeared for interrogation on Thursday after a fresh notice was issued.
Padmakumar, a senior CPI(M) leader from Pathanamthitta district, has previously represented the Konni constituency in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Meanwhile, the Vigilance Court in Kollam on Thursday sent N Vasu—who succeeded Padmakumar as Travancore Devaswom Board president in 2019—to SIT custody till the evening.
The SIT had sought his custody for a day for further interrogation, and the court granted custody until 4 pm.
BJP workers staged a protest near the court as Vasu was produced, raising slogans against him and attempting to block the vehicle transporting him to the Crime Branch office.
With the latest arrest, the SIT has now taken into custody five persons, including prime accused Potty and Vasu, in the two cases related to gold missing from the Dwarapalaka idols and the Sreekovil door frames. PTI TBA SSK TBA SSK KH
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.