Probe team arrests Sabrimala ex-Chief Priest in gold theft case for second time

The Kerala Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Thursday arrested Kandararu Rajeevaru, the formerTantri (Chief Priest) of the Sabarimala Temple, in connection with the disappearance of gold from the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) linked to the Sabarimala Gold theft case.

The SIT action came after the vigilance court in Kollam permitted the probe team to arrest Raajeevaru yesterday. Upon receiving the orders, the probe team reached the judicial custody where Rajeevaru is presently remanded in connection with the first case registered against him. The SIT recorded the arrest there.

On Friday last week, the SIT arrested Raajevaru for the first time. As per the investigating team, the first case registered against him centred on allegations that door frames and Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols of the Sabarimala temple for gold-plating in 2019 were not returned in full, prompting suspicions of misappropriation and theft.

Rajeevaru was taken into custody after being questioned at an undisclosed location on Friday morning and was later shifted to the SIT office in the afternoon, where his arrest was formally recorded.

Till now, the Keraka High Court-monitored SIT has arrested 12 people in connection with the gold theft case. On Wednesday, the SIT arrested former Travancore Devaswon Board (TDB) member K P Sankara Das from a private hospital in Kerala.

Das was arrested in the same two cases as Rajeevaru, the Dwarapalaka idols and the Sreekovil door frames.

Earlier, the SIT arrested former TDB presidents N Vasu and A Padmakumar, and former board member N Vijayakumar in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case. All of them are currently in judicial custody.

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