P S Prasanth grilled again in Sabarimala gold theft, role suspected in conspiracy

KOCHI: The special investigation team (SIT) again questioned former Travancore Devaswom Board president P S Prasanth in the Sabarimala gold theft case. He was grilled at the office of the SIT in Thiruvananthapuram on January 24. This is the second time the SIT is questioning Prasanth. Although he was asked to appear for questioning earlier, Prasanth was unable to do so due to some inconveniences.

The SIT has reportedly received hints that Prasanth has a major role in the gold theft. It is believed that the group including Prasanth conspired to take the Dwarapalaka frames to Chennai without informing the court. It is believed that the then devaswom development executive engineer was replaced with an assistant executive engineer and that the devaswom vigilance was not informed before taking the frames.

The special investigation team questioned Prasanth at a secret location last month. This was on the previous day of grilling former minister Kadakampally Surendran. Prasanth had responded after the questioning that he was asked about matters related to the gold plating of the Dwarapalaka idols and that he had given accurate answers. He had responded that the recording of his statement was complete and that he will not have to appear before the SIT again.