Kottayam: Workers of the Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, and KSU staged black-flag protests at two venues in Kottayam attended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday.

Mahila Congress activists released black balloons as the Chief Minister landed in a helicopter. The protesters demanded his resignation over the alleged Sabarimala gold smuggling case.

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Vijayan had reached Kottayam by helicopter to inaugurate various projects at the Government Medical College. The protests took place later when he was travelling by road.

Protests were held near the Kottayam Police Parade Ground and at Kudamaloor, where activists waved black flags. The police detained several protesters, including Youth Congress district president Gauri Shankar, and later removed them from the protest sites.

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The gold controversy traces its origins to a 1998 donation by industrialist Vijay Mallya, who donated 30.3 kilograms of gold and 1,900 kilograms of copper for gold plating and cladding at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. Subsequent inspections and court-monitored inquiries revealed discrepancies between the donated gold and the quantity allegedly used