Kandararu Rajeevaru sent to 14-day judicial custody; Remand report levels serious allegations
Kollam: Sabarimala chief priest (Tantri) Kandararu Rajeevaru has been sent to 14 days’ judicial custody till January 23 in the Sabarimala gold theft case. He has been shifted to the Thiruvananthapuram sub-jail, officials said.
His bail plea will be heard on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the SIT remand report has levelled serious allegations against Rajeevaru, stating that he aided violations of temple rituals and silently allowed gold plates to be taken out of the temple.
The report alleges that the Tantri did not object to the removal of the gold plates and instead gave what investigators described as a criminally negligent silent approval.
The report states that the Tantri had a prior connection with key accused Unnikrishnan Potti, which he reportedly used to grant permission for the removal of the gold plates.
When the Devaswom Board allowed the gold plates to be given to Potti, Rajeevaru did not try to stop it. Instead, SIT says, he provided a criminally negligent silent approval for the plates to be taken. The remand report does not mention any financial transactions linked to the Tantri.
Rajeevaru is the 13th accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case. He was summoned by SIT early Friday morning for questioning, which lasted several hours. He was formally arrested after the questioning in the afternoon. By evening, the accused underwent a medical examination, and was presented before the Kollam Vigilance Court. Rajeevaru’s lawyer, Adv. CD Anil, will file a bail plea in court.
Other accused in the case so far include Unnikrishnan Potti, former 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 jeweler Govardhan, former administrative officer Sreekumar, former Devaswom Board member N Vijayakumar, and Thiruvabharanam Commissioner KS Baiju.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also filed a case related to the Sabarimala gold theft on Friday. The accused in the ED case are the same as those listed in the SIT investigation.