Sabarimala tantri arrest: CPM, Congress react cautiously amid ongoing probe in gold theft case

Thiruvananthapuram: Both the ruling CPM and the Opposition Congress adopted a cautious stance on Saturday in response to the arrest of former Sabarimala tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru in the temple gold theft case, stressing that the law applies equally to everyone.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala urged that the investigation be allowed to proceed independently, while CPM leader and Law Minister P Rajeev said the government would refrain from commenting as the probe is being supervised by the Kerala High Court.

Their remarks came a day after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested Rajeevaru in connection with the controversial gold replating incident at the Sabarimala shrine.

According to official sources, the tantri was arrested for his alleged close association with prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti and for granting “silent permission” for the replating of the Dwarapalaka and Sreekovil gold plates outside the temple premises.

The arrest of Rajeevaru, who occupied one of the most respected ritualistic positions at the Lord Ayyappa temple, has left devotees deeply unsettled.

“Tantri was arrested in the case... It’s a fact. It’s a legal matter. Everyone is equal before the law and no one is above it... Let the law take its course. Let the investigation progress in accordance with that. We hope the SIT will bring out all the accused before law,” Chennithala told reporters.

Without naming individuals, he alleged that several ministers and former ministers were linked to the case and urged the SIT to take action against them as well. Accusing the CPM of “shielding” its own leaders facing allegations, he added that Lord Ayyappa “will not spare anyone who stole the gold”.

Minister P Rajeev said the High Court-monitored SIT was examining every aspect of the gold theft from the beginning, and therefore the government would not make any specific observations at this point.

State Fisheries Minister Saji Cheriyan also suggested that it would be inappropriate to comment while the investigation was underway. “Let the legal matters progress. Tantri Rajeevaru and I hail from the same place. He is close to everyone,” he said.

CPM leader E P Jayarajan, when asked about the arrest, said the probe was moving in the right direction and reiterated that everyone is equal before the law.

Rajeevaru had been questioned at an undisclosed location on Friday before being taken to the SIT office, where his arrest was formally recorded. Officials said the action was based on statements given by Potti and by former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar.

Investigators reportedly found that Rajeevaru had maintained close links with Potty and was aware that the replating of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) plates and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) doorframe plates had been carried out outside the temple complex in 2019, in violation of established ritual practices.

He is the 11th person to be arrested since the High Court set up the SIT to probe the loss of temple gold. Rajeevaru belongs to the Thazhamon Madom in Chengannur, the hereditary tantri family entrusted with overseeing the Lord Ayyappa temple’s rituals for generations—a lineage renowned for its antiquity and associated with the legend of Lord Parasurama.

Meanwhile, the chief priest was reportedly shifted to a government hospital on Saturday morning after he complained of discomfort while in custody.

PTI