Thiruvananthapuram, Jan. 21 -- The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at 21 locations across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, in connection with its probe into alleged money laundering in the Sabarimala gold theft case, officials said.

The searches were conducted by ED personnel at the headquarters of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which governs the Sabarimala temple, and homes and premises linked to some of the key accused arrested so far in the case such as businessman Unnikrishnan Potty, former TDB chief A Padmakumar, and TDB officer Murari Babu.

The case, which pertains to the alleged misappropriation of gold from the door frames of the sanctum and the plates covering the dwarapalaka (guardian idols...