Sabarimala gold theft case: SIT questions Congress MP and UDF convenor Adoor Prakash

The Kerala High Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case was on Saturday (February 7, 2026) questioning United Democratic Front (UDF) convenor and Congress MP Adoor Prakash at the Kerala Police Crime Branch headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.

Officials said Mr. Prakash had emerged as “a subject of interest” in the investigation after photographs of him with the prime accused in the sensational case, Unnikrishnan Potti, surfaced in the public domain. Mr. Potti, who has been released on statutory bail, is also at the Crime Branch office as part of the investigation.

At the centre of the controversy swirling around Mr. Prakash is a set of photographs showing Mr. Potti tying a thread around Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s wrist at her high-security residence in New Delhi.

Mr. Prakash, Congress leader Anto Antony, MP, and Govardhan, a Bellary-based jeweller accused of receiving the stolen temple property, are also shown in the photograph. 

Officials said the SIT was intrigued to know the nature of Mr. Prakash’s relationship with Mr. Potti. They said the SIT was also examining whether Mr. Prakash had facilitated Mr. Potti’s entry into Ms. Gandhi’s heavily guarded and highly access-restricted Delhi residence. 

Officials said the SIT was also examining photographs showing Mr. Prakash accepting an envelope and a “goody bag” from Mr. Potti in a hotel room in Bengaluru. 

Prakash’s defence 

Mr. Prakash had earlier stated that Mr. Potti was known to him as “a constituent deeply involved in the affairs of the Sabarimala temple.” He said that people in public life “encounter people of different backgrounds, and they cannot divine their character and motive in advance.”

Mr. Prakash said he had gone to Ms. Gandhi’s residence at Mr. Potti’s request and “had no role” in arranging the visit. He also said Mr. Potti had called on him in Bengaluru and handed over a wedding invitation in an envelope and some sweets in a carry bag. 

A political move: Congress

Meanwhile, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal, MP, has termed Mr. Prakash’s questioning “a political move.”

Mr. Venugopal told reporters in Kochi that “an embattled CPI(M), reeling under the arrest of two party leaders in connection with the Sabarimala theft, is seeking political cover by attempting to scandalise” the names of Congress leaders.

“The SIT is part of the Kerala Police, though the High Court is monitoring the investigation”, he said.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, however, refused to take questions on the subject while speaking to reporters in Kasaragod.

Mr. Prakash’s questioning in the case has come at a rather inopportune moment for the Congress-led UDF. Mr. Satheesan is leading UDF’s Statewide ‘Puthuyuga Yatra’. The alleged involvement of the CPI(M) top brass, including two former presidents of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), is a central theme of the UDF’s Assembly poll campaign.

Moreover, the UDF had repeatedly disrupted the recent Budget session of the Kerala Legislative Assembly to put the government on the defensive on the Sabarimala gold issue.