Two Devaswom staff arrested for theft of gold locket, foreign currency from Sabarimala temple hundi
The arrested have been identified as M G Gopakumar, 51, and Sunil G Nair, 51, natives of Alappuzha. Both were working as temporary staff at Sabarimala. After their arrest, they were handed over to the Sannidhanam police.
Sabarimala: Amidst allegations of gold theft by Devaswom officials and the arrests that took place, 2 temporary Devaswom Board employees were arrested by Devaswom Vigilance for allegedly stealing foreign currency and a gold locket by concealing them inside their mouths after stealing the valuables from the Sabarimala temple Hundi.
The theft came to light during a routine check. Officials noticed that both had their mouths unusually filled, leading to a detailed inspection. Vigilance officials said the accused exploited the fact that foreign currencies with special coatings would not get damaged even if concealed inside the mouth.
Malaysian currency was recovered from Gopakumar, while Euro, Canadian and UAE currencies were seized from Sunil. Further searches of their rooms led to the recovery of Rs 13,820 in cash, including Rs 500, Rs 100, Rs 20 and Rs 10 notes, and a 2g gold locket from Gopakumar’s bag. From Sunil Nair’s bag, officials recovered Rs 25,000 in cash, including fifty Rs 500 notes, along with 17 foreign currency notes.
SIT arrests Kandararu Rajeevaru in the second case
Meanwhile, the SIT arrested former priest Thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru in a second case linked to the Sabarimala gold theft investigation.
The arrest followed approval from the vigilance court, and thus marking a fresh escalation into the ongoing probe in the gold theft case in Sabarimala.
The SIT has already filed two separate charge sheets in the case, naming 15 individuals as accused. Rajeevaru was arrested last week in one of the