V.D Satheesan questions Tantri’s arrest in Sabarimala gold case, asks SIT to clarify

Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V.D. Satheesan, on Saturday (February 21, 2026) said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case should clarify on what grounds they arrested Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru.

The Congress leader said the SIT should make it clear to the public what offence the top priest committed in connection with the case.

Mr. Satheesan alleged a conspiracy and mystery behind the arrest of Mr. Rajeevaru when he addressed the media in Kochi on the second and final day of the Ernakulam district leg of the United Democratic Front’s Puthuyuga Yatra, a statewide pre-election rally led by him.

“The CPI(M)’s campaign on cyberspace was that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan deserved the credit for arresting the Tantri. One may doubt if the Tantri was arrested to divert attention from the allegations against the CPI(M) over the crime,” Mr. Satheesan said. He said the court order granting bail to Rajeevaru has cited want of evidence.

He demanded a High Court-monitored probe into how a person of the Tantri’s stature was left behind bars for 40 days without even an iota of evidence.

“Let him be in the jail if he has committed a crime. But it should be clarified what crime did he commit,” Mr. Satheesan said.

Continuing his criticism of Health Minister Veena George, Mr. Satheesan said back-to-back incidents were proving right the Opposition’s charge that the “State’s healthcare sector is on a ventilator”.

He rubbished Mr. George’s allegation that Youth Congress leaders placed a wreath at her door following instruction from him. “Instructing someone to place wreaths at ministers’ houses is not my job,” he said. Referring to an earlier protest by the DYFI against him, he asked if DYFI workers were sent to his official residence by CPI(M) Ministers.

“No case was registered against those who unleashed violence at both the official and private residences of the leader of the opposition,” he said.