Kandararu Rajeevaru sent to 14-day custody till Jan 23; SIT cites ritual violations
Kollam: Sabarimala chief priest (Tantri) Kandararu Rajeevaru was on Friday remanded to 14 days of judicial custody till January 23 in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case. Following the court order, he was shifted to the Thiruvananthapuram sub-jail, officials said.
Rajeevaru’s bail plea is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), in its remand report submitted to the court, has levelled serious allegations against the Tantri, accusing him of aiding violations of temple rituals and silently allowing gold plates to be taken out of the shrine.
According to the SIT, Rajeevaru did not object to the removal of the gold plates and instead gave what investigators termed a “criminally negligent silent approval.” The report further alleges that the Tantri had a prior association with the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, which was allegedly used to facilitate permission for removing the gold plates from the temple.
The SIT stated that when the Devaswom Board permitted the gold plates to be handed over to Potti, Rajeevaru failed to intervene or raise objections. However, the remand report does not cite any financial transactions directly linked to the Tantri.
Rajeevaru is the 13th accused in the case. He was summoned by the SIT early Friday morning for questioning, which continued for several hours. He was formally arrested in the afternoon, underwent a medical examination in the evening, and was later produced before the Kollam Vigilance Court. His counsel, Advocate C D Anil, is expected to file a bail application.
Other accused in the case include Unnikrishnan Potti, former Travancore Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar, former Devaswom commissioner N Vasu, former administrative officer Murari Babu, former executive officer D Sudheesh Kumar, Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari, Bellary-based jeweller Govardhan, former administrative officer Sreekumar, former Devaswom Board member N Vijayakumar, and Thiruvabharanam Commissioner K S Baiju.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday also registered a case related to the Sabarimala gold theft. The accused named in the ED case are the same as those identified in the SIT investigation.