Overview
- The court rejected bail for former Travancore Devaswom Board officials N. Vasu, Murari Babu and K. S. Baiju in cases over missing gold from the Dwarapalaka plates and Sreekovil doorframes.
- The Special Investigation Team arrested Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari and Ballari jeweller Govardhan, raising the total arrests to nine, with remand proceedings to be held in Kollam.
- Justice A. Badharudeen criticised 'laxity' in the probe and noted that former board members K. P. Sankardas and N. Vijayakumar had not been arraigned or arrested.
- The Kollam Vigilance Court ordered FIRs, remand reports and related records to be handed to the Enforcement Directorate, which sources said will promptly register a PMLA case.
- Investigators say prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty took artefacts for electroplating in 2019 and confessed to handing over more than 400 grams of removed gold to the jeweller, with reported seizures ranging from over 400 grams to over 800 grams and gaps in company records.