Kollam (Kerala), Jan 23 A court here on Friday granted statutory bail to former TDB administrative officer Murari Babu in two cases related to the alleged gold loss from the Sabarimala temple.
Kollam Vigilance Court Judge Mohit C S granted bail to Babu as 90 days had elapsed since his arrest, and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had failed to file chargesheets in the two cases.
Babu is the second accused in the case related to the alleged gold loss from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idol plates and the sixth accused in the case pertaining to the alleged gold loss from the doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum).
The court granted bail, subject to the condition that he should not influence witnesses or tamper with evidence, and that he should appear before the investigating officer whenever required.
Babu, who was lodged at a Special Sub Jail in Thiruvananthapuram, was released on Friday night and later left for his residence with his family.
He is the first among those arrested in the Sabarimala gold loss cases to be released from jail.
Babu was arrested in October last year on allegations that, when the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, proposed electroplating the Dwarapalaka idols and the Sreekovil doorframes, Babu forwarded the proposal to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).
He was arrested on charges of conspiracy related to the alleged gold loss.
At the time of his arrest, Babu was serving as Deputy Devaswom Commissioner in Haripad and was subsequently suspended from service after the gold loss incident came to light last year.
Earlier, Potty was granted statutory bail by the court in the Dwarapalaka idol case.
Meanwhile, former TDB member K P Sankara Das, who was admitted to hospital following his arrest, was shifted to jail on Friday after his health condition improved.
He was moved from the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, police said.
Similarly, Sabarimala Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, who was in the custody of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), was also produced before the court on Friday and was remanded to judicial custody.
The SIT has so far arraigned 16 people as accused in the Dwarapalaka idol case and 13 people in the Sreekovil doorframe case.
More arrested people are likely to approach the court seeking statutory bail if there is further delay in filing the charge sheets, police sources said.
However, Kerala High Court recently expressed satisfaction with the progress of the investigation and said an in-depth probe was underway.
