Fear of more arrests holding back Sabarimala gold theft probe, says Satheesan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan said that the investigation into the Sabarimala gold theft is not moving forward because of the fear that more accused in the queue will also be arrested. He alleged that those staying out of the investigation are accused who are close to the CPM and the government. With the understanding that the government itself could collapse, the Chief Minister’s Office is illegally interfering in the investigation with the Chief Minister’s knowledge, he said.

Satheesan told the media that both the public and the opposition are worried about the accused getting bail. If all the accused are released, he asked, will there be any evidence left?

"A situation was deliberately created for the accused, who were earlier denied bail by the High Court and the Supreme Court, to get default bail. The protest inside the Assembly was taken up jointly by the UDF. Five ministers were deployed to attack the Opposition Leader out of jealousy after seeing the Opposition's unity and the advance of Team UDF. Just because I made a mistake while referring to the portfolio of a minister, the minister claimed that I was mentally unstable. Such insults against opposition leaders or opposition MLAs have never happened before. The Speaker, who allowed ministers to speak, intervened when I was speaking," Satheesan said.

Opposition Deputy Leader P.K. Kunhalikutty asked why the CPM is clinging to the technicalities of court verdicts when all those involved in the Sabarimala gold theft are CPM leaders. He said that the general public believes that the CPM itself is behind the theft of gold from Sabarimala.