Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 19 (NationPress) The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the Sabarimala gold theft case made two significant arrests on Friday, while the Kerala High Court expressed strong dissatisfaction over the probe, highlighting major lapses and cautioning that the influential individuals should not escape scrutiny.

The individuals taken into custody include Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Smart Creations, and jeweller Govardhanan from Bellary, who are accused of acquiring the gold allegedly taken from the Dwarapalaka sculptures at Sabarimala.

With these recent arrests, the total number of individuals apprehended in this case has now reached nine.

These arrests came after ongoing criticism from the High Court regarding delays and a perceived selective approach to the investigation in this high-profile case.

According to the SIT, gold plates that were removed from the Dwarapalaka sculptures at Sabarimala were smuggled to Chennai and then taken to Smart Creations, where the gold was extracted from the sculptures.

The recovered gold was sold to Govardhanan through an intermediary known as Kalpesh.

During an earlier evidence collection operation in Bellary, the SIT discovered over 800 grams of gold at Govardhanan’s jewellery store.

The tantri also allegedly mentioned Govardhanan's involvement, stating that he was introduced to Govardhanan by the main accused, Unnikrishnan Potti.

Investigators reported that Smart Creations initially demonstrated complete non-cooperation.

Company representatives claimed that records had been destroyed in a factory fire and only provided an Excel sheet indicating gold plates had arrived on August 29.

The registers that investigators requested were reportedly lost in the fire, raising concerns about potential deliberate concealment.

Bhandari initially informed investigators and the court that his company engaged in gold plating only on pure metal sheets, not on gold-plated items—a statement that was later contradicted during the investigation.

He was summoned to Thiruvananthapuram after his statement and subsequently arrested.

Earlier in the day, the High Court dismissed the bail requests of several accused and sharply criticized the SIT for its lax and selective methods.

The court noted that the decision to remove the gold plates from the Dwarapalaka sculptures for replating was a collective decision made by the Travancore Devaswom Board in 2019. It questioned why board members K.P. Shankardas and N. Vijayakumar, who were involved at the time, had not been named as accused.

Labeling the case as a rare crime where the custodians became the destroyers, the court stated that such a large-scale theft of temple gold could not have occurred without the involvement of senior officials.

The court expressed its discontent with the lack of progress in the investigation since December 5 and warned against shielding influential accused individuals.

The court mandated the SIT to ensure a thorough investigation, emphasizing that corruption of this magnitude severely harms the religious sentiments of millions of Ayyappa devotees and called for a steadfast judicial response.