Kerala Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan on Thursday said that the probe into the Sabarimala gold loss was continuing at a very slow pace and the government was dissatisfied with it.
Muraleedharan said that while arrests are being made in connection with the matter, the chargesheet was yet to be filed in the matter.
He said that if a chargesheet is not filed by the end of this month, the government will convey its dissatisfaction to the Kerala High Court regarding the very slow pace of the probe.
"We cannot become spectators to the slow pace of the probe," he said.
The minister was responding to reporters' queries regarding former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth being taken into custody in connection with the Sabarimala gold loss cases.
Muraleedharan said that while the government is not happy with the very slow pace of the probe, it cannot take any steps till the Special Investigation Team (SIT) files its chargesheet.
"We are keeping a close watch on the matter," he said.
Regarding Prasanth's Facebook post in the morning, prior to being taken into custody, claiming the action against him was politically motivated, the minister said that the former TDB president was first questioned during the time of the previous LDF government.
He said that the latest action of the SIT may be an outcome of the questioning that took place back then.
He also said that the government has not in any manner intervened in the SIT probe by calling its officials, seeking their views, or making suggestions.
"But I have on several occasions conveyed that the government was dissatisfied with the very slow pace of the probe," the minister said.
He also said that with the SIT action against Prasanth, the LDF can longer claim it had no role in the Sabarimala gold loss cases.
Meanwhile, current TDB president K Jayakumar said that with the SIT action against Prasanth, there will be an increase in the Board's responsibilities to ensure devotees' beliefs are protected and to assure people that there are no issues in Sabarimala.
The SIT is probing two cases relating to the alleged loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) of the Sabarimala temple after they were taken for electroplating in 2019.
The SIT recently informed the Kerala High Court that it is also probing a similar electroplating exercise carried out in 2025, when Prasanth was the TDB president.
Prasanth headed the board from 2023 to 2025.
In a recent report filed before the Kerala High Court, the SIT said the probe into the alleged pilfering of gold during the September 2025 electroplating exercise has also been clubbed with the Dwarapalaka idol case.
