Sabarimala gold heist was 'organised plunder', accused acted in concert: Kerala HC

Kochi, Jan 21 The Kerala High Court on Wednesday came down heavily in the Sabarimala gold heist case, observing that what occurred at Sabarimala amounted to an organised plunder and that the accused had acted in concert to loot the assets of Lord Ayyappa.

Justice A. Badharudeen made these remarks while dismissing the bail pleas of former Travancore Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar and co-accused Govardhan and Murari Babu.

The order was issued on petitions that had earlier been reserved for judgment.

The court noted that the accused -- A. Padmakumar, Govardhan and Murari Babu -- wield considerable influence in society and that there was a strong likelihood of them misusing their influence to derail the investigation if released on bail.

The court specifically pointed out that Padmakumar continues to be a member of a political party.

The High Court further observed that it must be probed whether more persons are involved in the case and directed that the looted gold must be fully recovered.

The court stressed that answers are required regarding the whereabouts of the missing gold and that the petitioners must be questioned further, along with those who were arrested recently.

Concluding the order on a striking note, the court quoted lines from the song "Panchagni Madhye Thapas Cheythaalum Ee Paapakarmathin Prathikriyaakumo" from the Malayalam film Advaitham.

The court said that the finding that a huge quantity of gold went missing from the Sabarimala sannidhanam would remind the public of the song.

The court added that the theme of the film bears a close resemblance to the Sabarimala gold heist case.

The song was written by Kaithapram, composed by M.G. Radhakrishnan and sung by M.G. Sreekumar in the film Advaitham, whose storyline closely mirrors the allegations in the Sabarimala gold heist.

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