Sabarimala gold heist | Tantri claims his arrest in cases 'retaliation' for temple women entry row

Kollam (Kerala): Sabarimala Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru has linked his arrest in the alleged gold loss cases at the hill shrine to his stand during the 2018 women's temple entry row, claiming that his position at the time had ruffled the feathers of many.

Rajeevaru, who was the 16th accused in the alleged loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) and the 13th accused in the alleged loss of gold from the doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), was recently granted bail by the Kollam Vigilance Court.

The bail order referred to arguments raised by the chief priest's counsel during the hearing, including reference to the 2018 Sabarimala row, when the government, following a Supreme Court order, permitted entry of women of menstrual age into the temple.

The Tantri argued that while officiating rituals during the period when entry of women of a certain age group was attempted, he had taken a strong stand to preserve temple customs and rituals, refused to allow political interference and had even threatened not to perform poojas and religious ceremonies if attempts were made to tamper with established practices.

"Further attempts made by a few senior police officers at the instance of the ruling party to facilitate the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple was prevented by the strong stand taken by the petitioner who was then the Tantri of the temple," the court order quoted his argument as saying.

He further contended that when there were attempts to keep Sabarimala open on all days, he had objected citing the idol's "Nithya Brahmachari" status.

"This stand had also ruffled the feathers of many persons and the present implication of the petitioner in two crimes is in fact an act in retaliation to tarnish the reputation of the petitioner and to create a narrative that the highest priest is also involved in the alleged illegal transactions," his counsel argued.

Rajeevaru maintained that as per the Travancore Devaswom Board manual, the priest's role in the temple is to perform rituals and that he had carried out all duties for the sanctity of the deity.

"The Tantri is the spiritual engineer in the domain of image worship. The Tantri is responsible for the proper conduct of poojas and other religious ceremonies in accordance with Sasthras," he argued.

He contended that the alleged misappropriation of gold artefacts was carried out by Travancore Devaswom Board officials with the connivance of certain outsiders and that the allegation against him was baseless.

He further alleged that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been deliberately diverting the matter by linking him with prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty to counter what he described as his close association with various VIPs.

He said Potty had worked as an assistant to a Keezhshanti and that it was not the Tantri who appointed him.

On the other hand, the SIT maintained that though the temple is managed by the TDB, the Tantri has ultimate authority in matters pertaining to customary practices, rituals and religious ceremonies.

Granting bail to Rajeevaru in the two cases, the court observed that there was not "even an iota of evidence" against him.

"Very importantly, there is nothing on record, not even an iota of evidence from the side of the SIT, to establish any positive involvement on the part of the petitioner in the alleged irregularities. The case of the SIT regarding criminal conspiracy fails on account of the admitted fact that the petitioner did not sign the crucial mahazars dated July 20, 2019, and May 18, 2019," the court observed.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan in Kochi told reporters that the Vigilance court's bail order in favour of Rajeevaru was significant and that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) must clarify the reasons for his arrest.

"SIT should answer why the Tantri was put in jail for 41 days without appropriate reasons," he said.

He alleged that when the investigation in the Sabarimala gold loss cases was heading towards CPI(M) leaders, the Chief Minister's Office intervened and diverted the probe by arresting the Tantri.

"I am not saying that he is innocent. But when a person like the Tantri is arrested, his role and the offence he committed should be revealed. That was not done. The same has been said by the court also," Satheesan said.

He urged that the division bench of the Kerala High Court supervising the investigation should examine the reasons for the Tantri's arrest.

"Sabarimala case will end up with no evidence remaining and all the accused getting released from jail," he added.