Varkala (Kerala), March 4 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V.D. Satheesan on Wednesday accused the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of deliberately weakening the Sabarimala gold smuggling case, alleging that the failure to file a charge sheet within 90 days enabled key accused and senior CPI-M leader A. Padmakumar, to secure statutory bail.

Addressing the media soon after the news came that Padmakumar had secured bail, Satheesan said that under the law, an accused is entitled to default bail if the investigation agency does not submit its charge sheet within the stipulated period.

“That is precisely how Padmakumar walked free. The SIT, with the backing of the Chief Minister’s Office, created the circumstances for this to happen,” he alleged, adding that the Opposition had warned of the possibility of such an outcome weeks ago.

Noting that eight of the 13 who were jailed in the gold heist case have now secured bail, the Congress leader warned that politically influential accused persons now out on bail would be in a position to tamper with or destroy evidence.

“Even when they were in custody, the investigators failed to gather crucial material. Now that they are out, whatever little possibility remained will also be wiped out,” he said.

According to him, the case risks losing both its momentum and relevance, ultimately ending without accountability.

Satheesan further alleged that all those arraigned in the case had links with the CPI-M and that the probe did not extend to individuals who, in his view, ought to have been arrested.

“There is a clear attempt to shield the real culprits. If those in custody speak out, more names would surface. What we are seeing is the outcome of a conspiracy to protect those involved,” he claimed.

Questioning the conduct of the investigation, Satheesan said it was widely believed that the probe was under court supervision, yet even a preliminary charge sheet was not filed within the statutory deadline.

He also criticised the arrest of the temple thantri without publicly detailing the charges.

“The court itself observed that there was not even a shred of evidence against him. If this continues, the very relevance of the SIT will stand eroded,” he said.

In a related development, temple tantri Kantarar Rajeevar, who secured bail last month, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate officials at Kochi in a case that they had registered.

–IANS

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