Sabarimala gold theft: SIT arrests priest-turned-businessman Unnikrishnan Potti

In a decisive breakthrough in the Sabarimala gold theft probe, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), on Thursday, October 16, arrested priest-turned-businessman Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in two cases linked to the alleged misappropriation of gold from the sacred artefacts of the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple.

Potti was taken into custody from his residence near Kilimanoor on Thursday morning and subjected to over 11 hours of interrogation by a team led by Crime Branch SP Bijoy P. He was subsequently questioned by Kerala Police Academy (KEPA) Director S Sasidharan under the supervision of ADGP (Law and Order) H Venkatesh. Potti’s formal arrest was recorded late in the night after a detailed medical examination at the Thiruvananthapuram General Hospital.

The SIT, acting under strict confidentiality directives from the Kerala High Court, has also completed formalities for the remand report. Potti was produced before the Ranni Magistrate Court in Pathanamthitta on Friday, October 17.

According to investigators, the arrest marks the first major breakthrough in the alleged theft of 475 grams of gold (around 56 sovereigns) from the dwarapalaka (guardian deity) sculptures and kattilappadi (threshold) of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum). Officials found that while only 3 grams of gold were actually used for plating, Potti allegedly misappropriated the remaining quantity and even collected payments from two individuals in Bengaluru for the same work.