Guruvayoor, Kerala Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan on Monday said he has asked the TDB to withdraw the recent circular appointing officials facing probe into the Sabarimala gold loss case to key positions on the board.
Speaking to reporters here, Muralidharan said he had written to Travancore Devaswom Board Chairman K Jayakumar on Saturday requesting withdrawal of the circular.
“The council has independent powers and the government cannot directly interfere in its decisions. Until then, I have demanded withdrawal of the circular mandating that people facing investigation in the Sabarimala gold loss case be appointed to key positions,” he said.
Muraleedharan said he believes Jayakumar, despite being appointed by the previous LDF government, is acting impartially.
“If the circular is not corrected, the state government will assume that the present council is also involved in the gold loss incident,” he said.
The Devaswom administration can decide on further action in the missing gold case only after the Special Investigation Team files its chargesheets in the two cases, the minister said.
He said the Special Investigation Team is yet to file a chargesheet in two cases related to the alleged gold loss.
“If flaws are found in the charge sheet, the Cabinet will decide to conduct further investigations,” Muraleedharan said.
“We will intervene if the results contained in the indictment are unsatisfactory,” he said.
He also said that more information related to Sabarimala is likely to be revealed.
“Former Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan himself said that more revelations will come. When new revelations come to light, investigations will be conducted on the basis of them,” he said.
Vasavan had recently indicated that more revelations could emerge following reports that former TDB chief and former MLA A Padmakumar was writing a book detailing alleged irregularities related to the hill shrine and the entry of two women into the temple after the Supreme Court ruling.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said media reports regarding Padmakumar’s alleged revelations do not warrant a fresh investigation.
“Padmakumar is the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold loss case. If he discloses any information, the special court will examine whether it is relevant. There is no need for a fresh investigation,” Chennithala told reporters.
The minister noted that Padmakumar, who was arrested by the special court, was granted legal bail after 90 days in custody.
“If his revelations are of any significance, the Special Investigation Team, working under the supervision of the court, can look into them,” he said.
Padmakumar is also facing disciplinary action within the Communist Party of India and a decision in this matter is expected to be taken by the party’s Pathanamthitta district committee.
Recent media reports have claimed that Padmakumar, the then president of the Travancore Devaswom Board, and senior police officer S Sreejith were deliberately kept away from Sunnidhanam on the day two women entered the Sabarimala temple in January 2019.
Reports also claimed that Padmakumar claimed that the move was coordinated by a “highly influential person” who wielded significant influence within both the CPI and the then Left government.
According to reports, Padmakumar also claimed that he was instructed not to travel to Sabarimala that day and was instead asked to head to Thiruvananthapuram.
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