UDF convenor Adoor Prakash, MP
| Photo Credit: R.K. Nithin
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 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.
Mr. Prakash’s questioning in the case has debatably come at an inopportune moment for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Leader of the Opposition V.D. 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 Budget session of the Kerala Legislative Assembly to put the government on the defensive on the Sabarimala gold issue.
Congress stance
Earlier, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala had told reporters that Mr. Potti had photographed himself with an array of politicians, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran.
The SIT has recorded Mr. Surendran’s statement. The Chief Minister’s Office had clarified that Mr. Potti was among a score of persons present when Mr. Vijayan handed over the keys of an ambulance to TDB officials at a public function in front of the Secretariat.
Published – February 07, 2026 12:52 pm IST
