Chennithala Accuses CMO of Controlling Sabarimala Gold Heist Probe
Former opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has made serious allegations regarding the investigation into the Sabarimala gold heist, claiming that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) acted under political pressure from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). He stated that the arrest of the Sabarimala tanthri, Kandararu Rajeevaru, was a deliberate move to divert attention from the real culprits involved in the temple theft.
Suspicious Arrest Without Evidence
Chennithala highlighted that the tanthri was arrested and kept in jail for 41 days despite a complete lack of evidence against him. The Kollam vigilance court granted bail to Rajeevaru, explicitly noting that there was not a shred of evidence to support his detention. This decision came even though the SIT opposed the bail application, raising questions about the team's motives.
"It appears the team acted on orders from the chief minister's office without trying to pursue or arrest the real culprits of the Sabarimala gold heist," Chennithala asserted. He alleged that the arrest was politically motivated, intended to prevent the investigation from reaching former devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran and current minister V N Vasavan.
Political Interference and Temple Controversies
According to Chennithala, the tanthri informed the court that his arrest was linked to his opposition to two key issues: women's entry to Sabarimala and the chief minister's directive to keep the temple open 365 days a year. This, he argued, shows that the arrest was entirely politically driven, with the investigation being sabotaged to protect major players.
"CPM and CM's attempts to use Sabarimala for political gains will face strong backlash from the devotees and the public," Chennithala warned, emphasizing the potential public outcry over the alleged misuse of the temple for political purposes.
High Court Directives Ignored
Chennithala pointed out that the Kerala High Court had issued clear directives to the SIT on October 21, 2025, and November 5, 2025, ordering the arrest of the major players responsible for the gold heist. However, these orders were completely ignored by the investigation team.
The interim order on October 21 detailed the need to investigate the criminal conspiracy behind the heist, stating that events from 2019 and the smuggling of dwarapalaka idols were part of a larger organized plan. The high court outlined nine reasons for the conspiracy in the eighth clause of the judgment, but the SIT conducted no investigation in this direction.
Irregularities in Gold Plating and Election Fallout
Chennithala further elaborated that the interim order on November 5 focused on serious irregularities related to the gold plating of dwarapalaka idols in September 2025. These irregularities occurred when CPM representative P S Prasanth was the president of the Travancore Devaswom Board. Despite this, Prasanth was only secretly questioned twice and then released, without facing significant scrutiny.
He concluded by suggesting that the Sabarimala gold heist played a major role in CPM's defeat in the local body elections, leading to the SIT's investigation being completely sabotaged and redirected. "The investigation was diverted away from the major players, and it became apparent that political interests overrode justice," Chennithala alleged, calling for a transparent and unbiased probe into the matter.
