Kollam (Kerala) | Former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president and CPI(M) leader A Padmakumar was arrayed as an accused in a second case related to the loss of gold from the plates of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols at the Sabarimala temple on Thursday, police said.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Kerala High Court to probe the gold loss incident submitted its report to the Vigilance Court here on Thursday, officials said.

According to police, Padmakumar — who was also a former MLA — had earlier been arrested in a case involving gold that had been lost from the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum).

Based on fresh evidence from the second case concerning gold lost from the Dwarapalaka idols, SIT decided to array him as an accused.

A police official said evidence emerged that, under Padmakumar's tenure, the board allegedly approved a proposal in 2019 to electroplate the Dwarapalakas' plates.

The plates were subsequently handed over to the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, who took them to Chennai for electroplating, police said.

Officials added that a petition seeking custody of Padmakumar will soon be filed at the Vigilance Court.

Meanwhile, Padmakumar was produced before the court, and his remand period was extended for another 14 days.

The Kerala High Court granted SIT an additional six weeks to complete the probe on Wednesday.

So far, SIT has arrested six individuals in the two cases, including Potty and two former TDB presidents.