# TDB chief Prashanth denied bail in Sabarimala gold theft case 2026-08-19T14:55:05+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets A Kollam Vigilance court has denied bail to former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P.S. Prashanth in the Sabarimala gold theft case, while granting bail to co-accused and former board member Ajikumar on medical grounds. The court extended Prashanth's remand until September 1. The duo were produced before the court on Wednesday after their previous remand period expired. The Hindu reports the prosecution submitted additional digital and physical evidence, including call details showing Prashanth contacted first accused Unnikrishnan Potti on the day the board decided to grant permission for gold plating. Evidence of WhatsApp communication and a direct meeting between Ajikumar and Potti was also presented. Mathrubhumi reports the SIT alleged the board's decision to contract Smart Creations violated a June 2023 directive requiring prior High Court clearance before altering temple assets. The SIT claimed the decision aimed to conceal details of gold lost during 2019 maintenance work. Prashanth and Ajikumar were arrested by the Special Investigation Team on July 23. Both are also accused in the Sabarimala ghee procurement scam. The SIT is expected to submit charge sheets and a progress report to court next month. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Hindu's reporting focuses on the prosecution's evidence against the accused, detailing phone records and meetings, while Mathrubhumi foregrounds the court's bail decision and the SIT's narrative of a deliberate violation of High Court directives to hide missing gold. The Hindu omits the bail outcome entirely in its published snippet, and Mathrubhumi gives more weight to the SIT's allegations of a cover-up. Neither source includes significant comment from the defence, leaving the prosecution's account largely unchallenged in this round of coverage. Readers should watch for the SIT's charge sheets due next month, which will clarify the strength of the evidence against each accused. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 1 government-critical, 1 neutral - thehindu.com (neutral report) Focuses on court proceedings and evidence presented by prosecution without editorialising. - english.mathrubhumi.com (government critical) Foregrounds SIT allegations of cover-up and violation of High Court directive, implying official misconduct. This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-22T10:40:55+00:00. Tags: P.S. Prashanth, Sabarimala gold theft case, Travancore Devaswom Board Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ex-tdb-chief-prashanth-remanded-till-sept-1-in-gold-theft-case/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ex-tdb-chief-prashanth-remanded-till-sept-1-in-gold-theft-case/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/