HC deserves credit for probe by SIT into Sabarimala gold theft, says Chennithala

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday said the Supreme Court deserves praise for the arrest of two former Travancore Devaswom Board chairmen in the Sabarimala gold misappropriation case.

He said that without the Supreme Court’s oversight, the case would have resulted in the arrest of only three or four lower-level officials. An impartial investigation was only possible thanks to the intervention of the court.

Mr. Chennithala, a permanent invitee of the Congress Working Committee, urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to break his silence, which he described as mysterious, especially since two key CPI(M) leaders were arrested and sent to judicial custody in the case.

“It is now the Ministers’ turn. Media reports suggest that former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran will soon take to the dais. But this is not enough. The current Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan also needs to be questioned to bring out the whole truth,” he said.

Accusing the CPI(M)-led government of trying to destroy Sabarimala, Mr. Chennithala said they had previously tried to do so by encouraging women of all ages to enter the temple. Now they were doing this by embezzling the gold belonging to the temple.

He also alleged that adequate preparations were not made ahead of the Mandalam-Makaravilakku season, leading to endless queues and great hardship for devotees.