Kollam (Kerala), March 4 A vigilance court here on Wednesday granted statutory bail to former TDB president A Padmakumar in the case related to the alleged misappropriation of gold from the idols of the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala, sources said.
Padmakumar had already been granted statutory bail in the case related to the alleged misappropriation of gold from the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) at the temple, and is therefore likely to be released from jail by evening.
The former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president is the eighth accused to be released on bail in the matter, sources said.
Padmakumar is a former CPI(M) MLA and had served as TDB president when the decision was taken to hand over Sabarimala artefacts for replating to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti in 2019. He is the 11th accused in the Dwarapalaka gold loss case.
Both cases are being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Kerala High Court.
