The Kollam Vigilance Court on Wednesday granted conditional bail to Sabarimala ‘thanthri’ (chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru in the case of alleged misappropriation of gold from temple assets.
Rajeevaru is set to walk out of jail after spending 41 days in judicial remand. The court’s granting of bail to the chief priest is seen as a setback for the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case.
The chief priest has been granted bail by the court on the condition that he appear before the SIT twice a week. He has been barred from entering Pathanamthitta district and cannot leave the state without permission from the vigilance court.
Rajeevaru has been arraigned as the 16th accused in the alleged theft of gold from the ‘dwarapalaka’ sculptures and 13th accused in the loss of gold from the door frames of the sanctum sanctorum.
The SIT had accused Rajeevaru in court of maintaining close ties with Unnikrishnan Potty, the first accused in the case, and of failing to report the violation of temple procedures when the gold-plated sheets were first taken out of the temple for alleged renovation in 2019. The chief priest’s verbal permission to the Devaswom authorities to hand over the plates to Potty for alleged renovation was cited by the SIT as his complicity in the case.
The SIT has also flagged the temple chief priest’s substantial investments in a private firm and asked for the court’s permission for a detailed inquiry into such assets. According to reports, the chief priest has ₹2.05 crore to his name while his wife has ₹62 lakh in her name.
However, the vigilance court is reported to have overruled the SIT’s objections to bail to Rajeevaru on grounds that the prosecution has not been able to establish his direct link with the misappropriation of gold. A detailed order of the court decision is awaited.
