Sabarimala gold theft case: SIT questioning tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru; arrest likely

The Kerala High Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) was questioning Sabarimala tantri (chief priest) Kantararu Rajivaru as part of its ongoing probe into the misappropriation of gold-plated religious artefacts from Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, even as officials privy to the legal process did not rule out the possibility of arrest. 

Officials confirmed that the chief priest has been at an SIT “safe house” in Thiruvananthapuram since Friday. Subsequently, the investigating team brought him to the Kerala Police Crime Branch headquarters at Eenchakkal, Thiruvananthapuram.

Officials said the tantri had “a rightful entitlement” to the affairs of Sabarimala temple, including the granting or denial of permission to conduct maintenance and move artefacts. They said the SIT has sought a legal opinion on whether the priestly orthodoxy falls within the scope of the Prevention of Corruption Act, or whether offences such as conspiracy and intention to commit a crime would apply.

The SIT was questioning Mr. Kandararu for the second time since last December. Sources said the SIT appeared keen to examine Mr. Kandararu’s “decades-old relationship” with the main accused in the case, Unnikrishnan Potti. 

In the early 2000s, Mr. Potti worked as an aide to a lower-ranking priest at the Sabarimala temple. Subsequently, Mr. Potti gained influence with successive Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) administrations and with the temple’s traditional priestly orthodoxy, currently headed by Mr. Kandararu.

Officials said Mr. Potti had, over the years, cultivated a network of wealthy Ayyappa devotees who donated lavishly to the temple, sponsoring expensive pujas and underwriting the expenses of large feasts. They said successive TDB administrations had come to rely on Mr. Potti’s donor network for soliciting sponsorships as offerings to the presiding deity. 

They noted that the SIT, in several court filings, had underscored Mr. Potti’s influence at the temple, including chaperoning VIPs, mostly film stars and celebrities, to the temple for exclusive darshans and special pujas.

Moreover, the SIT reportedly submitted photographs suggesting Mr. Potti’s proximity to the tantri’s family, including evidence that the accused contracted the family to perform pujas at the private premises of wealthy devotees.

So far, the SIT has arrested 11 persons in connection with the case, including two former TDB presidents, both political appointees, and temple officials.