Thiruvananthapuram | An SIT probing the Sabarimala gold loss case has questioned former Devaswom Minister and senior CPI(M) legislator Kadakampally Surendran, police sources said here on Tuesday.
The interrogation of Surendran, a prominent leader in the ruling CPI(M) who held several organisational posts in the party, triggered sharp remarks from the opposition Congress.
With the television channels starting to air the news about his interrogation, Surendran confirmed that his statement was recorded last week, as he was the Devaswom Minister when the alleged loss of gold from the hill shrine occurred.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) recorded his statement after Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader Shibu Baby John released photographs showing Surendran standing alongside Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused in the case.
The SIT also reportedly questioned P S Prasanth, the immediate past president of the Travancore Devaswom Board.
So far, the SIT has arrested 10 people, including two former TDB presidents, as part of the probe into the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the Sreekovil doorframes at the Sabarimala temple.
The SIT was constituted on the directions of the High Court, which earlier this month granted the team an additional six months to complete the investigation.
Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Sunny Joseph levelled allegations against the LDF government.
He accused it of exerting strong pressure on the investigation team to avoid questioning Kadakampally Surendran and former Devaswom Board President P S Prasanth ahead of the local body elections.
In a statement, he alleged that the probe would not have progressed even to the present stage without the strong intervention of the High Court.
The CPI(M) and the government were repeatedly protecting persons accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, which was highly condemnable, Joseph said.
Referring to recent remarks by CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan, the KPCC chief said the party was unwilling to take even minor disciplinary action against those accused who are currently in jail.
Asking who instructed the investigators to keep the questioning of former minister Kadakampally Surendran confidential, the KPCC Chief further said the investigation could reach all the accused only if administrative control over the probe was removed.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan further intensified his criticism against the Left regime and accused the CMO of interfering to exert pressure upon the SIT to delay the interrogation of Surendran until the civic body polls were over.
While talking to reporters in Kochi, he alleged that the interrogation was intentionally postponed because questioning Kadakampally Surendran during the election period would have caused political damage to the CPI(M).
The Leader of the Opposition further alleged that Kadakampally Surendran could not be spared from questioning due to his links with the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty.
He further accused Surendran of having a role in connecting Unnikrishnan Potty with the Devaswom Board president and its members, a fact that has now become clear.
Meanwhile, the investigators on Tuesday questioned Tamil Nadu-based businessman D Mani in connection with the gold loss from Sabarimala temple.