Court extends remand of K P Sankaradas in Sabarimala gold case

Thiruvananthapuram: Kollam vigilance court on Thursday extended the remand of former Travancore Devaswom Board member K P Sankaradas, an accused in the alleged gold theft case at Sabarimala temple, by another 14 days. Due to physical ailments, Sankaradas was produced in the court in a wheelchair.Meanwhile, the court granted conditional bail to another accused in the case S Sreekumar, a former administrative officer. Sreekumar is the sixth accused in the theft of gold from dwarapalaka sculptures. He became the administrative officer following the transfer of Murari Babu, just days before the removal of gold plated dwarapalaka coverings. His bail plea argued that he was merely following the instructions of his superiors and was not involved in the gold theft. The prosecution opposed Sreekumar's bail application, claiming that it would affect the investigation. However, the court rejected this and granted him bail. He will be the second person to get bail in the case after Babu.