Thiruvananthapuram, Jan. 3 -- Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday escalated the political attack over the alleged gold theft at the Sabarimala temple, calling it "not just loot, but sacrilege," and demanded an independent Central investigation into the case.

In a post on X, Chandrasekhar said the Special Investigation Team's (SIT) own findings had validated the BJP's allegations from the outset. Referring to the reported stripping of gold from the Prabhamandalam and the Shiva and Vyali roopams, he alleged that the removal of 4.5 kg of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols could not have occurred without authorised access and "deep complicity at the highest levels of the government and the Devaswom."

"Because the Prabhamandal...