ED summons actor Jayaram for questioning in Sabarimala gold case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has issued a summons to actor Jayaram to appear for questioning in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case at its Kochi unit office next week.

The move comes in the wake of the actor’s association and reported financial transactions with Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the case. Mr. Potti had reportedly made financial gains by taking the door frame and door of the Sabarimala temple, considered sacred by devotees, during their renovation. Reportedly, Mr. Potti convinced people that bringing such sacred objects from Sabarimala into their homes would bring prosperity.

The Kerala High Court-appointed Special Investigation Team probing the case had also questioned Mr. Jayaram last month. The actor was questioned at his residence in Chennai about the number of times he had participated in pujas with Mr. Potti and whether there were any financial transactions between them. He was questioned following circulation of videos showing him participating in a puja organised in Chennai in 2019 by Mr. Potti with the artefacts taken from the temple for gold plating. The actor had then denied any wrongdoing and said he had no links with the company where the re-plating of gold-clad artefacts of the temple was done or its sponsors.

The Kochi unit of ED had last month registered an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) in the alleged Sabarimala gold theft case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after receiving permission from the Central government.

The ED had begun preliminary inquiries into the alleged theft in October last year after potential money laundering aspects surfaced. The agency subsequently moved a petition before the Kollam Vigilance Court seeking custody of case-related documents. The petition argued that alleged acts of forgery, misappropriation of temple gold, and suspected laundering linked to Sabarimala constituted offences under Section 467 of the Indian Penal Code, a scheduled offence under PMLA.

Reportedly, the ED has so far issued summons to 12, of which only three figured in the SIT’s chargesheet.