Former BJP Kerala president K Surendran on Friday demanded investigation into the Sabarimala gold loot by a Central agency as the ongoing probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) will not uncover the full truth and to nab the real culprits.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Surendran said that the case has links to international smuggling syndicates and involves top leaders from both the ruling CPM and the Opposition Congress. Only an impartial investigation by a Central agency, such as the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI), can bring the real culprits to justice.
He alleged that the SIT investigation is not being conducted properly and that it (SIT) is trying to save the leaders involved in the loot.
Surendran criticised the changes in the SIT following the questioning of former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, alleging that the team was restructured to protect politically influential individuals.
“After former Devaswam Minister Kadakamlly Surendran’s interrogation by the SIT, there was a major change in the investigation team. Two CPM-affiliated officials were included in the investigation team. Realising that the probe will reach to the bigwigs in the ruling front, the Home Department is trying to sabotage the investigation,” he said.
The BJP leader criticized the SIT for the probe not reaching the former Travancore Devaswom Board(TDB) member KP. Shankardas. He said KP. Shankardas was in the affairs of the Sabarimala when the gold loot had taken place. “Shankardas has high-level connections. That is why the probe is not reaching him,” he said.
Surendran noted that the theft of invaluable gold-clad panels and artefacts from the Sabarimala temple is not a local crime but involves an international syndicate. The Congress leadership, including Sonia Gandhi, has serious questions to answer in the case.
Pointing to a photograph of the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, surfacing with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, he asked how individuals linked to the case gained access to the high command. He alleged that relatives of the Gandhi family in Italy might be involved in marketing antiques.
He recalled that the Kerala High Court had, at the very beginning, expressed suspicion over the possible involvement of notorious idol-smuggling syndicates. The subsequent disclosures by Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, he said, lent credibility to the concerns that the stolen gold and artefacts may have entered the international antiquities market.
He alleged that the Congress leaders, including Chennithala are gradually retreating from their initial positions on idol-smuggling syndicates once the issue gained public traction.
Surendran said the Congress’s game of hide and seek can now be noticed. No Congress leader is explaining that Unnikrishanan Potty met Sonia Gandhi. Stating that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s remarks on Thursday that the main accused in the case, Unnikrishnan Potty, at first entered the house of Sonia Gandhi for political maneuvering, he said both the LDF and CPM are involved in the case.