Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 6 (NationPress) In a bold move against the Kerala government regarding the alleged gold theft at the Sabarimala temple, prominent Congress leaders demanded on Thursday that the investigation be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), with oversight from the High Court. They accused the administration of orchestrating a significant cover-up involving high-ranking officials from the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Ramesh Chennithala commented that the Kerala High Court's remarks linking the Sabarimala gold theft to potential international gold smuggling were "extremely serious" and necessitated an independent investigation.

"This case must be handed over to the CBI with court supervision. The ongoing inquiry merely serves as a facade to protect those truly accountable," he stated.

Chennithala emphasized that all Devaswom presidents, board members, and senior officials who were in office during the theft should be scrutinized, along with the three Devaswom Ministers who served at that time.

Leader of Opposition and senior Congress figure V.D. Satheesan echoed these calls, asserting that the High Court had identified significant wrongdoing by the current Devaswom Board.

"The present Devaswom Board President and members ought to be included in the accused list and interrogated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). Instead of addressing accountability, the government appears to be extending the tenure of those culpable. Each fraudulent act at Sabarimala occurred with the full knowledge of the state government and the CPI(M)," he alleged.

Addressing the involvement of 'sponsor' Unnikrishnan Potti, who received the temple gold plates again, Satheesan pointed out that this was done in contravention of court orders, despite previous corruption allegations.

"The High Court has raised concerns that the Board may have misled the court and even suggested that valuable temple artifacts could have been sold in international markets," he added, insisting on a court-supervised audit of all temple valuables, including gold.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal also expressed dissatisfaction with the SIT's progress and called for a CBI investigation under court supervision.

"It is uncertain how effective this probe will be. Previous investigations have led to nowhere. The SIT must act decisively and interrogate all parties involved," he remarked.

According to the Congress leaders, only an unbiased, court-supervised inquiry can restore public trust in the management of one of Kerala's most esteemed temples.

As of now, the SIT has arrested three individuals, including Potti, serving TDB official Murari Babu, and retired officer Sudheesh Kumar.

On Wednesday, the SIT presented its report regarding the investigation's progress, to which the High Court remarked that the inquiry was satisfactory.