"All rumours being spread": Ex Devaswom Minister Surendran on accepting gifts from Kerala Sabarimala gold theft case accused

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 21 (ANI): Former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran on Wednesday dismissed the rumours regarding his association with Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in connection with the case related to the alleged theft of gold from Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple in Kerala.
Addressing a press conference here today, Surendran clarified his affiliation with Potti, stating that he visited the accused's then house only once in 2017 to attend a function.
"I have already informed the investigating agency about my association with Unnikrishnan Potti. I also told them about visiting his house once. It was not his present residence; as far as I remember, the visit was in 2017. I had been invited to a function at his house. I attended the function, had food there, and then proceeded to Sabarimala. That was the only time I visited his house," he said.
Furthermore, the MLA stated that he met Potti purely as a devotee and never accepted any sponsorships or gifts from him, calling the rumours baseless.
"At that time, I met Potti purely as a devotee of Lord Ayyappa. The rumours being spread have no basis. Neither Potti nor anyone associated with him has provided any kind of sponsorship in my constituency. I have never accepted any gift from Potti at any point in my life," he clarified.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Kollam Vigilance Court granted statutory bail to Unnikrishnan Potti, a former helper and the sponsor of gold-plating works at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, in the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols case.
He remains the main accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case.
Statutory bail was granted as the chargesheet was not filed even after 90 days. However, Potti will remain in jail in the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames case linked to the gold theft at the Sabrimala temple.
The case dealt with the 2019 theft of the gilded overlays of the temple's Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) panels and the alleged manipulation of documents.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday launched extensive raids across multiple states at 21 locations as part of its investigation into alleged money laundering linked to the Sabarimala gold smuggling case.
Searches were conducted at the residences of all accused named in the case and at institutions connected to them across Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
ED raided the homes of key accused, including Unnikrishnan Potti, former Devaswom Board President A Padmakumar, N Vasu, Murari Babu, and gold traders Govardhan and Pankaj Bhandari. Searches are also being carried out at Smart Creations in Chennai and at the residence of Bellary-based gold trader Govardhan.
ED is probing financial transactions related to the Sabarimala gold smuggling case to determine whether large-scale money laundering occurred.
The Sabarimala gold theft case concerns allegations of the misappropriation of approximately 4.54 kilograms of gold from sacred temple artefacts, including the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames and Dwarapalaka idols. The theft allegedly occurred in 2019 under the pretext of refinishing and re-gold-plating temple structures.
The controversy traces its origins to a 1998 donation by industrialist Vijay Mallya, who had gifted 30.3 kilograms of gold and 1,900 kilograms of copper for gold plating and cladding work at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. Subsequent inspections and court-monitored inquiries revealed discrepancies between the donated gold and the quantity allegedly used. (ANI)