Kochi

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday questioned former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) administrative officer S Sreekumar in connection with its probe into the alleged money laundering aspect of the Sabarimala gold loss case, officials said.

Sreekumar, the sixth accused in the case relating to the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idol plates, is among those being investigated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). He was granted bail by a vigilance court in Kollam on January 29.

Officials clarified that Sreekumar has not been named as an accused in the second case concerning the alleged loss of gold from the doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum).

According to ED sources, Sreekumar appeared at the agency’s Kochi office around 10 am in response to a summons. During the relevant period, he served as the administrative officer at Sabarimala and had signed official documents related to the transportation of the Dwarapalaka idols to Chennai for gold plating, they said.

The ED recently questioned Murari Babu, another former TDB administrative officer, as part of the same investigation.

Sources said the agency is examining whether the alleged gold losses in both cases involved proceeds of crime, bringing them under the ambit of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

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The ED is also expected to issue summons soon to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty, who was released from jail on Thursday after securing statutory bail in the SIT case.