Senior CPM leader and Kerala ex-minister Kadakampally Surendran questioned for 2 hours in Sabarimala ‘gold theft’ case

Surendran, who is presently a legislator representing the Kazhakkoottam Assembly seat, was questioned by the SIT on Saturday. Apart from Surendran, the SIT also questioned CPI(M) leader P S Prasanth, who had stepped down as TDB president only last month. During Prasanth’s term, the TDB had tried to hand over the artefacts of the temple for gold covering to self-styled sponsor Unnikrishnan Potty, who is a key accused in the scandal.

Surendran on Tuesday told the media that he shared all details known to him with the SIT. “I shared all the details that I know. A minister need not be familiar with the developments related to gold plating of temple items,” he said.

Apart from senior CPI(M) leader, A Padmakumar, the SIT had also arrested two other CPI(M) leaders — A Vasu, who had served as president as well as the commissioner of the TDB, and N Vijayakumar, a CPI(M) leader who had served as a member of the TDB. The SIT alleged that Vijayakumar, who was arrested on Monday, had conspired with key accused Unnikrishnan Potty with regard to handing over the temple artefacts for gold plating.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the gold theft took place with political protection. “Three CPI(M) leaders have been jailed in the scandal. Nobody will believe that the minister was not privy to the developments. The theft has international ramifications,” he said.

On Tuesday, the High Court rejected the bail plea of Padmakumar and Govardhan, a gold showroom owner from Bellary, who have been accused in the case.

The SIT had earlier found that the Dwarapalaka idols and door frames of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum, which had already been gold-plated in 1998-1999, were handed over to Unnikrishnan Potty for another round of gold plating. When the items were returned, around 4 kg of gold was allegedly found to have been missing.

The SIT, which has registered two criminal cases in connection with the matter, had found that the TDB leadership was allegedly privy to the decision to mark the gold-plated temple items as mere copper plates when they were handed over to Potty, who had earlier worked at the temple as an assistant to priests.

In the recent local body elections, Opposition parties had heavily referenced the scandal in their campaigns. However, the CPI(M) state leadership has played down its effect on the result. “Opposition parties had unleashed widespread campaigns against the LDF government over Sabarimala. But they could not reap results to the extent they had expected,” said party state secretary M V Govindan on Monday.