Sabarimala gold loot: BJP says SIT has its limitations; seeks CBI probe

The BJP on Thursday demanded a CBI investigation into the Sabarimala shrine gold heist case, as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) now probing the case has its limitations.

Speaking to mediapersons here, BJP state general secretary MT Ramesh said the investigation is currently focused on former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president N Vasu. Vasu became the president of the TDB at the special interest of the Chief Minister’s office, he said.

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Ramesh said that the Devaswom Secretary, who was arrested by the SIT earlier, was Vasu’s close associate when he was the Devaswom commissioner and president of the TDB. MT Ramesh claimed that the Devaswom Secretary has given a statement implicating Vasu in the case. ”Such being the position, why is the SIT not ready to arrest Vasu?” Ramesh asked.

“If N Vasu is caught, the Chief Minister will be in trouble. N Vasu’s godfather is the Chief Minister. SIT has its limitations as a system under the Chief Minister. That is why the BJP is demanding that the investigation be handed over to the CBI,” Ramesh said.

Ramesh said that gold theft is not limited to the Dwarapalaka sculptures. The High Court has raised suspicion about whether the doors seized by the SIT after commencement of the present proceedings are indeed the original gold-clad doors installed in 1998–1999. The High Court also said that it is necessary to find out whether large international rackets like Subhash Kapoor’s racket, which smuggles valuables out of the country, are involved in this fraud. He alleged that the centre of the conspiracy behind the Sabarimala gold robbery is the AKG Centre, the CPM state headquarters.

“The case is not limited to just one Unnikrishnan Potti or TDB employee. There is a large network behind this. The plan was to loot all the gold in the Sabarimala shrine. It has received government assistance,” Ramesh said.

Stating that there has been an international conspiracy to destroy the Sabarimala shrine, MT Ramesh alleged that the CPM and the state government are part of that chain. For bringing out the entire conspiracy behind the Sabarimala gold heist, a CBI probe is necessary, he said.

He said that the BJP will submit a petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with signatures of one crore Ayyappa devotees, seeking his intervention in the Sabarimala issue. Signature collection for this will start on the 10th of this month. As part of this, Ayyappa protection gatherings will be held at 25 places, MT Ramesh said.