Thiruvananthapuram, 23 July (H.S.): The Kerala government has expressed strong dissatisfaction over the slow pace of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged theft of gold from the Sabarimala temple, with Devaswom Minister K. Muralidharan warning that the government would inform the Kerala High Court if the investigation fails to make significant progress by the end of this month.

Speaking to reporters, the minister said that although arrests had been made in connection with the case, the SIT had not yet filed its chargesheet. He said the government could not remain a silent spectator while the investigation continued to drag on. If the chargesheet is not submitted by the end of July, the government will formally convey its dissatisfaction with the pace of the probe to the High Court, he added.

Muralidharan was responding to questions on the SIT taking former Travancore Devaswom Board president P.S. Prasanth into custody earlier in the day. Rejecting Prasanth’s allegation that the action was politically motivated, the minister pointed out that the former board chief had first been questioned during the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The present action, he said, could be a continuation of that earlier investigation.

The minister stressed that the government had not interfered in the investigation by summoning SIT officers, seeking their opinions or issuing directions. However, he said the government had repeatedly conveyed its displeasure over the slow progress of the investigation.

The SIT is investigating two cases related to the disappearance of gold from the temple’s Dwarapalaka idols and the sanctum doorway after they were removed for electroplating in 2019. The agency has also expanded its probe to examine similar electroplating work carried out in 2025, when Prasanth was serving as Travancore Devaswom Board president. The SIT recently informed the High Court that allegations of gold theft during the September 2025 electroplating process had been merged with the ongoing Dwarapalaka idols case as part of a comprehensive investigation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman