Sabarimala gold scam: Kerala CM responsible for delay in chargesheets, says Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala

Kozhikode: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said that chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was responsible for the delay in filing of chargesheets in the Sabarimala gold scam. Addressing reporters at the DCC office in Kannur, Chennithala said that by not filing even a partial chargesheet, the home department has created conditions for the accused to secure statutory bail. "The special investigation team (SIT) has cited two reasons for the delay in filing the chargesheet — the lack of prosecutorial sanction and the non-receipt of the chemical analysis report of the gold. Both these fall under the chief minister, who holds the home portfolio. Therefore, the chief minister bears full responsibility for the accused obtaining bail and for the derailment of the case," he said. Chennithala said that in the actress assault case, a partial chargesheet was filed to prevent the accused from securing bail. However, in the Sabarimala case, the govt has not even taken that step and is deliberately trying to shield the accused, who are CPM leaders, he said. "It is suspicious that even four months after the start of the investigation, the SIT has failed to recover the stolen gold. Neither the police nor the govt has any answer to the question of where the gold is," the Congress leader said. Chennithala added that the opposition will continue its protests inside and outside the assembly demanding the resignation of devaswom minister V N Vasavan and the arrest of the real culprits. "The investigation has not progressed even a step since former devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran was questioned," he said.