Pamba: Former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A. Padmakumar has questioned the allegation that he alone is responsible for the Sabarimala gold theft case. Padmakumar argued that the decisions taken during his tenure were collective and that no individual member could act independently without the knowledge of others on the board.
In his statement, included in his bail petition, Padmakumar explained that the officials initially recorded the details as “brass layers” and he corrected it to “copper layers” since the material used was copper. He added that any board member could have questioned the correction at a later stage if necessary. According to him, attributing full responsibility solely to him is unjustified.
The bail plea is expected to be considered by the Kollam court tomorrow.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan commented that strict action will be taken against Padmakumar, who has been arrested in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft. He emphasised that the case should not be compared with the Rahul Mangkoottil incident and accused the UDF of attempting to exploit religious sentiments for electoral advantage.
Govindan reiterated that those responsible for the Sabarimala gold theft must be identified and held accountable. He also affirmed that the party would fully cooperate with the SIT investigation and assured that appropriate steps will be taken once the probe concludes.
