The Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at around 21 locations across three states in connection with the Sabarimala gold loss case.
Premises linked to main accused Unnikrishnan Potti and former Travancore Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar were covered in the searches.
The case involves alleged misconduct and conspiracy over loss of gold from temple artefacts and is also being probed by a court-monitored SIT.
ED Raids 21 Locations In Sabarimala Gold Loss Probe
Searches span Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu under a PMLA investigation linked to alleged misappropriation of temple gold.
Summary
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday launched searches in three states as part of its money laundering investigation into the Sabarimala gold loss case, official sources said.
About 21 locations across Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are being raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added.
The premises linked to the main accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, in Bengaluru and former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar are understood to be covered by the federal probe agency as part of the action.
The ED had recently filed a PMLA case taking cognisance of a Kerala police FIR.
The politically sensitive case is already being investigated by a state Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of the Kerala High Court.
The probe is related to a series of irregularities, including official misconduct, administrative lapses and a criminal conspiracy to misappropriate the gold from the various artefacts of the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
The investigation by the SIT is related to the loss of gold from the gold-cladded copper plates of the 'Dwarapalaka' (guardian deity) idols and the door frames of the 'Sreekovil' (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple.
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