THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sleuths of the SIT, which is probing the alleged loss of gold from the Sabarimala temple, have interrogated the prime accused in the case, Unnikrishnan Potty, for over eight hours, officials said on Saturday.

According to sources, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) questioned Potty at the Police Headquarters here on Friday.

He appeared before the investigation team in the morning and was questioned till evening, they added.

Sources said the interrogation was part of the final stage of the investigation before the SIT files its final report before the court next week

The SIT had recently informed the court that its investigation in two cases relating to the alleged loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the gold-plated doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) had been completed and that it was ready to file the chargesheets soon.

Potty is the prime accused in both cases.

He was arrested by the SIT during the investigation. He later got statutory bail after spending more than three months in judicial custody.

It was Potty who had sponsored the replating of the temple's gold-plated artefacts, which were sent to a firm in Chennai in 2019 for electroplating.

The SIT suspects that gold was allegedly removed from the gold-clad plates of the artefacts during the replating process.

The Kerala High Court had last year directed the state government to constitute a Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged gold loss.