Setback for Thanthri; High Court Stays Remark of No Evidence; Notice Issued in SIT Appeal

Kochi: A setback has occurred for Kandararu Rajeevaru, the 16th accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case. The High Court has stayed the Kollam Vigilance Court's statement in its bail order that there is no evidence against the Thanthri. The High Court intervened in an appeal filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). A notice has been sent to the Thanthri in the SIT's appeal to cancel the bail.

The Vigilance Court made remarks such as, "There is no evidence against the priest, no conspiracy was found, and there is no responsibility for administrative matters." However, the SIT informed the High Court that these observations were incorrect. The petition clarified that there was significant loss to Sabarimala and considerable financial gain for the accused through the conspiracy.

In the appeal, it was stated that there is evidence in the form of voice messages showing that the first accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, had close ties with the priest. The scam was set in motion after the priest responded favorably to a letter from Unnikrishnan Potti on June 16, 2019. In 1998, during the gold-plating of the pillars, Kandararu Rajeevaru was the priest at the temple. Although there was awareness that the gold was being used for the pillars, the priest signed the Mahazar, which mentioned copper plates instead of gold plates.

The application submitted by Unnikrishnan Potti for gold plating and the priest's approval were prepared in the same Word file. The file was created in the system of the Sabarimala Executive Officer, as stated in the appeal. The petition also revealed that evidence from the priest's mobile phone indicated significant investments in private companies, amounting to crores.