Former TDB secretary Jayasree appears before ED in Sabarimala gold loss money laundering case

Kochi, Feb 16 (PTI) Former TDB secretary S Jayasree appeared before the ED for interrogation as part of the money laundering case linked to the Sabarimala gold loss incident, here on Monday, officials said.

Jayasree, the fourth accused in the case related to the alleged loss of gold from Dwarapala (guardian deity) plates being probed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), was granted interim protection by the Supreme Court.

Subsequently, she was also named as an accused in the money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), officials said.

Following a summons issued by the central agency, Jayasree reached the ED office here around 10 am, officials said.

Earlier, the ED had questioned other Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials, including S Sreekumar and Murari Babu, in connection with the case, they said.

The allegation against Jayasree is that she was serving as TDB secretary when artefacts of the Sabarimala temple were sent for replating in 2019.

However, in petitions filed before the Supreme Court, Jayasree maintained that she had acted on the Board's directions.

Jayasree has not been made an accused in the second case related to the alleged loss of gold from the doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), which is also being probed by the SIT. PTI TBA TBA KH