Congress MP Adoor Prakash accuses SIT officials of leaking Sabarimala gold theft case details

Kollam (Kerala): UDF convenor and Congress MP Adoor Prakash on Sunday accused officials in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case of leaking information to the media at the behest of the ruling LDF government.

Speaking to reporters, Prakash claimed that details of his recent interrogation were deliberately passed on by certain SIT officials. “I do not believe senior officers in the SIT did this. However, other officials were assigned specific duties, and according to those duties, information is being leaked,” he alleged.

The SIT, formed under the directions of the Kerala High Court, is investigating the disappearance of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) doorframes at the hill shrine. So far, 12 people have been arrested, including two former presidents of the Travancore Devaswom Board, both linked to the CPI(M).

Prakash, who was questioned over alleged links with prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti, insisted he had cooperated fully with investigators. He rejected reports that he was interrogated in Potti’s presence, calling them “completely untrue” and part of a campaign orchestrated by the LDF. He added that he would reveal the names of the officers involved “at the appropriate time”.

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The Congress leader further alleged that the case had become politically influenced. “Instead of conducting the investigation as directed, there is an attempt to divert it elsewhere. We will oppose such attempts,” he said. He maintained that it was the UDF that first exposed the gold theft, leading to the SIT’s formation under court monitoring, but claimed that subsequent additions to the team raised suspicions of an effort to derail the probe.

Prakash also revealed that SIT officials had suggested he use an alternative exit route to avoid media attention after his interrogation, but he chose to leave through the main entrance and address reporters directly.

Meanwhile, CPM MLA Kadakampally Surendran, who was questioned last month, said he knew Potti only as a devotee. Photographs have surfaced showing him at events organised by Potti, but Surendran dismissed them as routine public appearances. “The photograph shows me giving a memento to a child. You can ask that child when and where it was given. I don't remember everything, as it happened seven or eight years ago,” he said, adding that he had no connection with the incident.

Surendran was serving as Devaswom Minister in 2019 when the gold plates from the Dwarapalaka idols and sreekovil doorframes were removed and sent to Chennai for replating.