Kerala CMO interfering in Sabarimala SIT probe through IPS officers, alleges Congress

The Congress on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, leveled serious accusations against the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in connection with the ongoing special investigation team (SIT) probe into the Sabarimala gold loss case, accusing it of interfering in the investigation through intermediaries.

Opposition Leader VD Satheesan, while talking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, alleged that two IPS officers were deployed by the CMO to “put intense pressure” on the SIT investigating the case.

He said the opposition had refrained from naming the officers involved “solely out of procedure”, but warned that he would be forced to reveal their identities if they did not stop putting pressure on the investigating officers.

Stressing the need for a sincere and impartial investigation, he said the Opposition was closely monitoring the probe and would point out any lapses in the investigation.

Mr. Satheesan said the investigation will now move in the right direction only thanks to the Supreme Court’s intervention. He clarified that the opposition had not expressed any lack of confidence in the SIT so far and said he expected the “real culprits” to be brought before the law as soon as possible.

Mr. Satheesan said the Opposition will wait a few more days to assess how the SIT investigation is progressing and warned that the situation should not reach a stage where a CBI probe becomes inevitable.

He claimed that it was only because he was under court scrutiny that the investigation progressed to some extent. Otherwise, he claimed, the investigation would “go nowhere.”

“Had the investigation remained completely under government control, key accused like former TDB (Travancore Devaswom Board) chiefs A. Padmakumar and N. Vasu would not have been arrested,” he said.

SIT is investigating gold loss and related complaints. In this context, many people, including two former presidents of TDB, were arrested. The SIT recently told a Vigilance court that Pankaj Bhandari of Smart Creations and Ballari-based jeweler Govardhan Roddam played a central role in a conspiracy to steal gold from artefacts at the Sabarimala temple. The SIT arrested both Mr Bhandari and Mr Roddam on Friday.