Congress Leader K. S. Baiju Arrested in Sabarimala Gold Theft Case; To Be Produced in Court Today

Pathanamthitta: Congress leader and former Thiruvabharanam Commissioner K. S. Baiju, arrested in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case, was produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Ranni, Pathanamthitta district, on Friday morning. Before being presented in court, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) questioned Baiju along with the first accused, Unnikrishnan Potty.

Baiju, a senior leader of the Congress-backed Travancore Devaswom Employees Front, currently serves as the state treasurer of the association of retired Devaswom Board employees aligned with the Congress. He retired from the Travancore Devaswom Board in 2019 after serving as the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner.

The SIT arrested Baiju from his Thiruvananthapuram flat on Thursday evening after receiving crucial information that the theft of gold from the Dwarapalaka (temple guardian) sculptures and the golden steps (kattilappadi) at the Sabarimala temple was carried out with his knowledge. With his arrest, the total number of people taken into custody in the case has risen to four.

Baiju is the seventh accused in the Dwarapalaka gold theft case and the fourth accused in the kattilappadi theft case. Investigators found that a fake mahazar (official record) was prepared under his supervision when the golden steps were handed over.

The SIT suspects that Baiju’s absence from the Sannidhanam (temple premises) on July 19 and 20, 2019—when the Dwarapalaka panels were taken for electroplating and handed over to Potty—was deliberate and part of a larger conspiracy. The Devaswom Vigilance inquiry had earlier raised suspicions about his absence and found that Baiju failed to properly record the weight and documentation of the gold panels, a lapse that allegedly led to the loss of temple gold.

Baiju is the third Travancore Devaswom Board official to be arrested in the case, after Murari Babu and Sudheesh Kumar. The SIT is also investigating a related case involving the disappearance of gold from the door frame of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum).