Sabarimala gold heist: ED raids 21 locations in Kerala, Karnataka, TN

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruvananthapuram/ Bengaluru, Jan 20, 2026: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches across three states as part of its money laundering probe into the Sabarimala gold loss case, PTI reported citing official sources.

The searches were conducted at 21 locations in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

According to sources, properties linked to the main accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, in Bengaluru, and former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar were also searched by the central agency.

The ED recently registered a PMLA case after taking cognisance of an FIR filed by the Kerala Police.

The matter is also being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala Police under the supervision of the Kerala High Court.

The investigation pertains to alleged irregularities, official misconduct, administrative lapses and a criminal conspiracy involving the use of gold from various artefacts of the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala.

The SIT is probing the alleged loss of gold and gold-clad copper plates from the ‘Dwarapalaka’ (guardian deity) idols and the door frames of the ‘Sreekovil’ (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple.