Kollam

A court in Kollam on Friday granted statutory bail to former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president and CPI(M) leader A Padmakumar in one of the cases linked to the alleged loss of gold from the Sabarimala temple.

Vigilance Court Judge Mohit CS allowed the bail plea in the case concerning the reported loss of gold from the doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) failed to file a charge sheet within 90 days of Padmakumar’s arrest.

However, the former TDB chief will continue to remain in custody as he is yet to secure bail in the second case, which pertains to the alleged loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) plates.

Padmakumar, the eighth accused in the Sreekovil doorframe case, is a former CPI(M) legislator and was serving as TDB president when the decision was taken in 2019 to hand over Sabarimala artefacts for replating to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti.

Recently, the SIT informed the Kerala High Court that charge sheets in both cases are expected to be filed before March 31.

Police sources said Padmakumar, who is the 11th accused in the Dwarapalaka gold loss case, is likely to become eligible for statutory bail in that matter within the next two weeks.

READ MORE: Uttarakhand: Rohit Prakash pleads for Muslim keeping shops open till late

Several other key accused in the cases, including Potti, Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru and senior TDB officials, have already been granted bail and released from custody.