THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The arrest of Sabarimala Thanthri Kandararu Rajeevaru in the Sabarimala gold theft case has triggered a storm in Kerala.
While political debate over the issue is taking place, a section of activists and outfits has come forward questioning the logic behind the arrest.
A day after the Kollam Vigilance court remanded him to 14 days' judicial custody, the thanthri has strongly refuted the allegations while stating that he cannot be blamed for systemic failures.
Asserting that no statutory duty is vested in him under the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) Manual with respect to the custody, upkeep or administrative handling of temple artefacts, Sabarimala Thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru has claimed innocence in his bail application filed before the Kollam Vigilance Court.
His bail application will be considered on Tuesday.
In the plea, Rajeevaru, who is the 13th accused in the Sabarimala gold misappropriation case, stated that his role as Thantri is limited to performing rituals and granting spiritual sanction in accordance with Sasthras.
He maintained that he had no responsibility in the handing over of temple artefacts to the first accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, and that the preparation of inventories or mahazars does not fall within the duties of the Thantri under the Devaswom Manual.
The bail plea further contended that Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which deals with dishonest misappropriation of property by a public servant, does not apply to him, as there is no allegation that he converted any property for his own use or permitted others to do so.
According to him, the administrative officer and the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner are the statutory custodians of temple valuables. He has pointed out that when Devaswom officials sought his opinion, he had clearly and transparently stated that the artefacts were copper moulds gilded with gold.
Citing medical grounds, Rajeevaru has informed the court that he is a chronic diabetic suffering from advanced neuropathy and cardiac ailments.
He has also stated that his health condition has deteriorated in custody and requires urgent medical intervention. He has also claimed that he has fully cooperated with the investigation, has never attempted to evade the legal process and is willing to comply with any conditions imposed by the court.
The police remand report submitted by the Special Investigation Team has triggered strong reactions from the Thantri’s family.
Rahul Eashwar, a relative of Rajeevaru, described the remand report as shocking and questioned its findings. He said that the arrest is politically motivated.
In a detailed Facebook post, Rahul highlighted portions of the remand report which claim that the Thantri violated tantric procedures, failed to obtain the deity’s consent, did not inform the Travancore Devaswom Board and did not prevent the transfer of gold to Unnikrishnan Potti despite instructions from the Board.
Rahul raised questions on whether the deity’s consent was ever communicated to the police and whether a Thantri could legally grant approval in the deity’s name.
He also questioned whether the SIT is competent to evaluate tantric practices such as rituals, mantras and poojas. Adding that political motives could be behind the prosecution, he asked whether the Thantri was being made a scapegoat for political gain or to offset political loss.
At the same time, the SIT is examining the possibility of arranging Thantri as an accused in the Dwarapalaka idol case as well.
A report in this regard is expected to be submitted before the court on Tuesday.
SIT findings
According to the investigation team, Rajeevaru was booked for complicity, criminal misappropriation of temple property, financial dealings and a role in the conspiracy.
They noted that the association between Rajeevaru and Unnikrishnan Potti dates back to 2004-08. Thantri was fully aware that the plates removed from the temple were gold-clad, yet chose to support Potti and other accused persons, the remand report noted.
SIT further said Rajeevaru gave a "silent nod" for taking the plates out in the name of repair work. SIT further stated that no record of Thantri informing TDB in writing that panels and other articles were removed without his nod. Action was taken by Thantri against the alleged removal of temple articles, even though it amounted to a violation of rituals and temple practices.
"Thantri's continued presence during the removal and reinstallation of panels strengthens the allegation of his knowledge and consent", it noted.
So far, the Special Investigation Team has recorded 11 arrests in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case.
The first arrest was that of Unnikrishnan Potti on October 17. Former TDB Administrative Officer B Murari Babu was arrested on October 23. Former Executive Officer Sudheesh Kumar was arrested on November 1, followed by former Thiruvabharanam Commissioner K S Baiju on November 6. N Vasu, a former Devaswom Board President and Commissioner, was arrested on November 11. Former Board President A Padmakumar was taken into custody on November 20.
In December, former Administrative Officer Sreekumar was arrested on December 17. On December 19, the SIT arrested Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Smart Creations, and Govardhan, a jewellery owner from Bellary.
Former Devaswom Board member Vijayakumar was arrested on December 29. The latest arrest was of Thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru on January 9.
The case has been registered under IPC sections 403, 406 and 409, which relate to dishonest misappropriation and criminal breach of trust, including by public servants.
Sections 466 and 467 deal with forgery of records and valuable securities. Section 120B, read with Section 34, pertains to criminal conspiracy and acts done with common intention.
The case also invokes Section 13(1)(a) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which addresses criminal misconduct by public servants.
Prosecution case
According to the prosecution, the accused, acting with criminal intent and in collusion with officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board, misappropriated gold gilded on the plates covering the Dwarapalaka idols situated on either side of the sanctum sanctorum at Sabarimala.
The gold was allegedly removed under the pretext of repair and renovation, causing a wrongful loss of about two kilograms of gold to the Devaswom Board.
The prosecution has stated that although the Dwarapalaka idols were gold-plated in 1998, Murari Babu submitted a factually incorrect report in 2019 claiming that the plates were copper.
Based on this report and subsequent allegedly false recommendations, the plates were handed over to Unnikrishnan Potti. N Vasu is alleged to have prepared recommendation letters and mahazars falsely describing the gold-cladded panels as copper panels and showing the presence of individuals who were not actually present.
The fifth and sixth accused allegedly signed these mahazars despite knowing that the panels were gold-plated. It is further alleged that when the moulds were brought back to Sannidhanam on September 11, 2019, a mahazar was prepared without weighing the articles, and the gold-plated supporting pedestal, known as the “Thangapeedom”, was not entered in the Thiruvabharanam Register.
The Thiruvabharanam Commissioner is accused of handing over the articles to the first accused at Smart Creations in Chennai on August 29, 2019, without verifying their weight.
This allegedly enabled Unnikrishnan Potti to take the panels to houses, temples and business premises across Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kerala for private veneration and wrongful gain.
According to the prosecution, the panels weighed 42,800 grams when handed over on July 19 and 20, 2019. After plating only 394.900 grams of gold, they were returned, weighing 38,258.100 grams, resulting in a substantial loss to the Devaswom Board. The missing Thangapeedom was later recovered from the house of a relative of Unnikrishnan Potti.
The case was registered following a preliminary enquiry conducted by the Vigilance and Chief Security Officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board.
After the enquiry report was submitted on October 9, 2025, the Devaswom Commissioner recommended registration of a criminal case on October 10. The Special Investigation Team registered the crime on October 11, 2025.
Notably, Thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, on Saturday, was shifted to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital from Thiruvananthapuram special sub jail due to his ill health.