SIT arrests ex-priest in Sabarimala gold theft case

The investigation into the alleged theft and misappropriation of gold from the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple entered a decisive phase on Friday with the arrest of former Sabarimala Tantri and chief priest Kandararu Rajeevaru by the Kerala High Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

- AM Abdussalam

The arrest, coming amid mounting evidence of a wider conspiracy, has significantly escalated a case that has already shaken the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and reverberated through Kerala's political landscape.

Rajeevaru, the Ilth accused, was taken into custody after being questioned at a secret location and later brought to the SIT office at Enchakkal in Trivandrum for further legal proceedings.

The case pertains to the alleged loss of gold from gold-clad copper plates used on the Dwarapalaka idols and the sanctum sanctorum door frames at Sabarimala.

The arrest follows intense scrutiny of the circumstances under which repair and gold-plating works were undertaken at the temple in 2019.