Thiruvananthapuram, February 22 Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged on Sunday that the Sabarimala tantri (chief priest) was "deliberately implicated" in the gold theft case and suspected political interference behind his arrest without any evidence.
Addressing a press conference here, he claimed that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), investigating the case, was controlled by the Chief Minister's Office and that tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru was arrested to prevent the investigation from reaching some "powerful individuals".
Chennithala alleged that the SIT failed to comply with the directions issued by the Kerala High Court and did not conduct a proper investigation into the alleged conspiracy behind the case.
Although the tantri is a person who is revered as the father of Lord Ayyappa, he was arrested and jailed for 41 days without any evidence, he said.
The Kollam Vigilance court, which had granted bail to the tantri, clearly stated that there was no evidence against him.
"Therefore, we should assume that the Sabarimala tantri was deliberately implicated in the case. It is clear that there was political interference to arrest the tantri," he alleged.
Alleging that although there was clear evidence to arrest certain "powerful individuals", no action has been taken so far in this regard, he further said.
The tantri was arrested and jailed to divert the course of the investigation and to ensure that it does not reach Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan and former minister Kadakampally Surendran, he further said.
He also accused former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth of committing serious lapses in connection with the gold loss issue. However, he was questioned secretly and let go, he said.
The decision to sabotage the SIT probe was taken at a higher level after the ruling LDF had suffered a massive defeat in the recent LSGD elections, he alleged.
The people of the state would give a befitting reply to what he termed as the political misuse of the case.
The recent observation by the Kollam Vigilance Court that there was no evidence against Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru in the Sabarimala gold theft case has triggered a political debate in the state, with opposition parties targeting the state government.
Chennithala disapproved of the Youth Congress protest in which a wreath was placed at the official residence of the health minister. He said such forms of protest were not appropriate and added that such methods were associated with the ruling CPI(M).
Youth Congress workers stormed Health Minister Veena George's residence in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday and placed a wreath demanding her resignation in the surgical lapse incident that happened at the Vandanam government medical college in Alappuzha years ago.
