6 months ago
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The Special Investigation Team (SIT) ‘s confidential interim advancement study connected its probe into the sensational misappropriation of gold-plated spiritual artefacts from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple appeared to roil State politics.
The High Court examined the study successful camera connected Wednesday, sparking speculation-driven recriminatory accusations, governmental sabre-rattling, and demands for the disbanding of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).
For one, the Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan, demanded the contiguous apprehension and incarceration of erstwhile Devaswom Commissioner N. Vasu, who the SIT precocious questioned.
Mr Satheesan demanded that the authorities instantly disband the TDB. He accused the existent disposition of entrusting the gilded panels for ostensible restoration to Unnikrishnan Potti, the premier accused successful the case, again successful 2025.
Mr Satheesan accused the TDB of wilfully overlooking the cautionary reddish flags raised by the Devaswom’s interior vigilance, including chartering the spiritual objects to affluent devotees for backstage worship, imaginable replication to merchantability the archetypal and a drastic simplification successful their weight, including gold, erstwhile returned to the temple aft purported restoration successful 2019.
“The UDF volition not let the authorities to widen the word of the existent Board It volition instrumentality to the streets”, helium stated.
Mr Satheesan said the SIT’s “interim findings” pointed to authoritative collusion astatine the highest levels of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) authorities and its governmental appointees astatine the helm of the TDB during the 2019-2025 period.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar requested the Governor Rajendra Arlerkar to cull the government’s impending ordinance seeking to widen the existent tenure of the TDB.
Mr Chandrasekhar slammed the LDF for brazenly endorsing the “tainted” TDB’s corruption and “criminal role” successful the theft of Sabarimala spot by seeking an hold of its term.
Devaswom Board Minister V. N. Vasavan said the High Court had observed that the SIT was connected the close way and the absorption had nary credible crushed to blasted the authorities for the crime.
TDB president P. S. Prasanth stated that the SIT probe would encompass the Board’s transactions arsenic good arsenic the usage and question of the temple’s artefacts, with retrospective effect from 1998. “The actions of past TDB administrations are besides nether the HC-appointed SIT’s scrutiny,” helium added.
