Sabarimala Gold Theft Probe: SIT Expands Search to Tamil Nadu, Probes Idol Smuggling Link

The Special Investigation Team tasked with unraveling the intricate Sabarimala gold theft cases has broadened its investigative scope into several regions of Tamil Nadu, driven by the need to corroborate critical information supplied by a businessman who suggested that an organized international racket specializing in idol trafficking could have facilitated or been directly involved in the disappearance of valuable temple gold.

Central to this line of inquiry, investigators from the SIT arrived at the residence of M S Mani, a businessman based in Dindigul district, operating under the suspicion that he might be the individual referred to as D Mani in the witness statement provided by a close associate of senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who described transactions involving four panchaloha idols acquired from Kerala by a Tamil Nadu antique collector and subsequently passed into the hands of a global smuggling network.

Upon questioning, Mani publicly stated to reporters that the probing team recorded his detailed statement without explicitly disclosing the specific case under investigation, while he firmly denied any personal involvement in the antique trade or any linkage whatsoever to the Sabarimala temple, proposing instead that the authorities may have been misled due to potential misuse of a mobile phone number belonging to one of his acquaintances named Balamurugan.

Also Read: Telangana Phone-Tapping Probe: SIT Questions ‘Poachgate’ Accused Nanda Kumar

The session involved thorough scrutiny of Mani's income tax return documents by the investigators, who also presented photographs of several individuals for possible identification, to which sources close to the probe indicated Mani responded negatively, unable to recognize any of the persons shown, leading to expectations that formal summons will shortly be served requiring his physical presence for further questioning at the SIT headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.

Law enforcement sources emphasized that this particular development should not yet be interpreted as a significant breakthrough in the case, noting that parallel searches and inquiries are actively underway in additional locations across Tamil Nadu, including Virudhunagar, as the team meticulously pursues multiple leads in the ongoing high-profile investigation into the theft of gold from one of Kerala's most revered pilgrimage sites.

Also Read: Telangana Phone-Tapping Case: SIT to Summon Former CM’s OSD P Rajashekar Reddy