Sabarimala gold loss: Tantri claims his arrest 'retaliation' for temple women entry row

Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple Tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru has claimed that his arrest in the alleged gold loss cases at the famous Kerala hill shrine is due to his stand during the 2018 women's temple entry row.

Rajeevaru claimed that his position at the time had ruffled the feathers of many.

He was the 16th accused in the alleged loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) and the 13th accused in the alleged loss of gold from the doorframes of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum). He was recently granted bail by the Kollam Vigilance Court.

Tantri's arguments

The bail order referred to arguments raised by the chief priest's counsel during the hearing, including reference to the 2018 Sabarimala row, when the government, following a Supreme Court order, permitted entry of women of menstrual age into the temple.

Also read: Sabarimala gold loss | Kerala CM should seek CBI probe: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

The Tantri argued that while officiating rituals during the period when entry of women of a certain age group was attempted, he had taken a strong stand to preserve temple customs and rituals, refused to allow political interference and had even threatened not to perform poojas and religious ceremonies if attempts were made to tamper with established practices.

“Further attempts made by a few senior police officers at the instance of the ruling party to facilitate the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple was prevented by the strong stand taken by the petitioner, who was then the Tantri of the temple,” the court order quoted his argument as saying.

Allegations against TDB officials

He further contended that when there were attempts to keep Sabarimala open on all days, he had objected citing the idol’s “Nithya Brahmachari” status.

Also read: Court clears priest in Sabarimala gold theft case: 'Not even an iota of evidence'

“This stand had also ruffled the feathers of many persons and the present implication of the petitioner in two crimes is in fact an act in retaliation to tarnish the reputation of the petitioner and to create a narrative that the highest priest is also involved in the alleged illegal transactions,” his counsel argued.

Rajeevaru maintained that, as per the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) manual, the priest’s role in the temple is to perform rituals and that he had carried out all duties for the sanctity of the deity.

“The Tantri is the spiritual engineer in the domain of image worship. The Tantri is responsible for the proper conduct of poojas and other religious ceremonies in accordance with Sasthras,” he argued.

He contended that Travancore Devaswom Board officials carried out the alleged misappropriation of gold artefacts with the connivance of certain outsiders and that the allegation against him was baseless.

He further alleged that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been deliberately diverting the matter by linking him with prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty to counter what he described as his close association with various VIPs.

No evidence

He said Potty had worked as an assistant to a Keezhshanti and that it was not the Tantri who appointed him.

On the other hand, the SIT maintained that though the TDB manages the temple, the Tantri has ultimate authority in matters about customary practices, rituals, and religious ceremonies.

Granting bail to Rajeevaru in the two cases, the court observed that there was not “even an iota of evidence” against him.

“Very importantly, there is nothing on record, not even an iota of evidence from the side of the SIT, to establish any positive involvement on the part of the petitioner in the alleged irregularities. The case of the SIT regarding criminal conspiracy fails on account of the admitted fact that the petitioner did not sign the crucial mahazars dated July 20, 2019, and May 18, 2019,” the court observed.

(With agency inputs)