Overview
- Kerala’s SIT sent teams to Chennai and Bellary to trace a Chennai contact identified as D. Mani and to collect evidence at Roddam Jewellers, with nine arrests recorded so far.
- The businessman who gave a sworn statement said four panchaloha idols were smuggled in 2019–20, named Unnikrishnan Potti as intermediary, and described an October 2020 payment meeting in Thiruvananthapuram; investigators are verifying the claims and may seek Interpol help if foreign links are established.
- Officials said the SIT will seek police custody of Pankaj Bhandari of Smart Creations and jeweller Govardhan, and is probing whether gold was chemically separated from temple panels and sold onward.
- Under High Court direction, the SIT is gathering TDB signatures for forensic analysis and moving closer to questioning more former board members, with K. P. Sankar Das and N. Vijaykumar seeking protection from arrest.
- Politics intensified as Congress alleged CMO interference through two IPS officers, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan highlighted photos of suspects with Sonia Gandhi, and BJP’s Rajeev Chandrashekhar demanded a CBI probe, with a petition expected to be heard after the Christmas recess.