Sabarimala gold theft case: Kerala court rejects bail plea of former TDB member KP Sankara Das

KOLLAM: A Kollam court on Monday rejected the bail pleas of a former member KP Sankara Das of the Travancore Devaswom Board in two cases related to the alleged gold loss at the Sabarimala Temple.Kollam Vigilance Court Judge Mohit CS Vigilance Court Judge Mohit CS dismissed the pleas after reviewing the medical documents submitted by K P Sankara Das. He is listed as the 15th accused in the case involving the suspected loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the 11th accused in the case related to missing gold from the Sreekovil doorframes.Speaking to the media, Advocate G Mohanraj, appearing for the accused, said that bail had been sought on medical grounds, but the court rejected the request.

The former board member, Sankara Das was part of the TDB in 2019 when gold ornaments were allegedly allowed to be handed over to the main accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, for replating work. Sankara Das was admitted to hospital due to health problems and was later arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on January 14 2026. So far, the court has granted bail to seven accused in the case, including the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty.

Two others — former board member N Vijayakumar and Ballari-based jeweller Govardhan Roddam — have also moved the court seeking bail. Meanwhile, the SIT informed the Kerala High Court that it plans to file the chargesheet in the matter before March 31.