Daijiworld Media Network - Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6: Kerala parliamentary affairs minister MB Rajesh on Thursday defended the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged Sabarimala gold theft cases and accused the Opposition UDF of “playing drama” inside the Assembly, even as the first accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, walked out of jail after securing statutory bail.
The minister’s remarks came amid chaotic scenes in the Assembly, with UDF MLAs sitting on the floor and raising slogans against the LDF government, demanding the resignation of temple affairs minister V N Vasavan.
Hitting back, Rajesh alleged that the Opposition was afraid the SIT investigation would widen and reach “certain people holding top positions”.
“The devaswom bench of the High Court has expressed confidence in the SIT probe. The court has clearly stated that filing a charge sheet in haste could allow the accused to escape at the trial stage. The bench has also made it clear that no accused will go scot-free even if statutory bail is granted,” Rajesh said, referring to Potty’s release.
Accusing the Opposition of undermining the judiciary, the minister said, “The Opposition leader behaves as if he is above the court. They want the real accused to escape because they know the probe will expand to people who had close connections with Potty.”
Rajesh also recalled that Potty first surfaced in Sabarimala during the tenure of the then Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) headed by Congress leader Prayar Gopalakrishnan. “Unfortunately, he is no more. Since the Opposition has no real issues to raise, they are resorting to theatrics,” he added.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan alleged that there was a deliberate conspiracy behind the delay in filing the charge sheet.
“The gold-cladded sheets of the Dwarapalaka idols were sold for crores of rupees, but the stolen gold has not been recovered. Evidence has also not been collected. Once the accused come out on bail, evidence will be destroyed,” Satheesan alleged.
He further claimed that if the probe had proceeded in the right direction, “even bigger CPM leaders would have been behind bars by now”, and demanded court intervention to speed up the SIT investigation.
Unnikrishnan Potty, a priest-turned-real estate businessman accused of misappropriating gold from Sabarimala temple assets, was granted statutory bail by the Court of the Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge, Kollam, after the SIT failed to file the charge sheet within the mandatory 90-day period.
Kollam Vigilance Court Judge Mohit C S granted bail in the case related to the alleged misappropriation of gold from the door frames of the sanctum sanctorum. The court imposed strict conditions, including execution of a bond with two solvent sureties of ?2 lakh each, a ban on entering Pathanamthitta district, and directions not to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence. Potty has also been directed to appear before the investigating officer whenever summoned.
In the case related to the ‘Dwarapalaka’ idols, Potty had secured bail earlier in January. He was the first accused to be arrested in the case in October last year.
Meanwhile, the court extended the remand of Tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru, who was produced through video conferencing. His bail plea is scheduled to be considered on February 9.