Unnikrishnan Potti’s arrest delayed to protect big sharks: Surendran

Former State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) K. Surendran has alleged that the delay in arresting Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the Sabrimala temple gold theft case, was an attempt to shield top-level culprits.

Speaking at a press conference in Thrissur on Saturday, Mr. Surendran claimed that the former Devaswom Commissioner and former Travancore Devaswom Board president might be brought under the probe’s ambit, but it was doubtful if the investigation would go beyond that.

“Communist Party of India (Marxist)‘s [CPI (M)] top leaders cannot claim ignorance—nothing happens without their knowledge,” Mr. Surendran said, accusing the government of systematically looting temple wealth across the State.

He also alleged that the Travancore Devaswom Board continued to disregard the investigating officers and cited the recent gold plating work at Sabarimala as evidence to it.

“The government has no clue as to how much gold has gone missing. The hurried temple works are only meant to protect the guilty. How can the TDB proceed with gold plating without the Kerala High Court’s knowledge?” he asked.

He demanded that the case be handed over to Central agencies, stressing that even Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan had supported such a move.

Hijab row

On the Hijab controversy at a Kochi school, Mr. Surendran criticised Education Minister V. Sivankutty for making “baseless” remarks and urged him to review previous court orders. “The court has made it clear that school managements have the authority to decide on uniforms. It’s extremist groups that are trying to exploit the Hijab issue to create unrest and divide society,” he said.