SIT conducts protracted search and seizure operation at Sabarimala senior Tantri’s private residence in Chengannur

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft conducted a prolonged inspection at the private residence of Kandararu Rajeevaru, senior Tantri (chief priest) of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, in Chengannur, Alappuzha, on Saturday. He was arrested on Friday in connection with the Ayyappa temple gold theft case. 

Forensic experts, accredited gold appraisers, police videographers, cyber police personnel, and document experts accompanied the team. Officials said the SIT reportedly focussed on creating an inventory of artefacts, including gold ornaments, in Mr. Rajeevaru’s possession to audit their provenance and confiscate the objects, including bank statements and legal documents, pertaining to the case. 

Officials said the SIT was also tracking the financial trail relating to Mr. Rajeevaru’s decades-long transactions with Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the case. They noted that the SIT had held Mr. Rajeevaru accountable for violating the Prevention of Corruption (Act), 1988. It had accused Mr. Rajeevaru of acquiescing to the Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) “illegal” decision to hand over the temple’s gold-plated copper panels to Mr. Potti, ostensibly for restoration, in 2019, thereby creating an opportunity for their criminal misappropriation. 

Private pujas

Officials signalled that the SIT might also indict individuals, including celebrities, who chartered the religious artefacts from Mr. Potti for private pujas on their residences and business premises, on charges of harbouring or dishonestly receiving stolen property under Sections 411 and 414 of the Indian Penal Code. 

The SIT found that Mr. Rajeevaru fell within the definition of a public servant on the basis that he received an honorarium from the TDB. 

Hence, officials said the anti-corruption inquiry into the chief priest would entail examining whether he amassed wealth beyond his known sources of income. Moreover, they noted that the SIT was obligated to pass on its findings to the Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating the money-laundering angle in the case, as “third-party” information. 

They noted that the SIT had alleged in court filings that Mr. Rajeevaru had tagged Mr. Potti along to the Sabarimala temple as an aide in 2007, opening the door for the latter to gain traction with the successive TDB and the temple’s priestly orthodoxy. 

Officials said the SIT had recieved incriminating statements from other accused in the case, a majority of them TDB officials, that Mr. Potti had allegedly used his influence with Mr. Rajeevaru to raise private funds from wealthy donors, ostensibly for special poojas and important repairs in the temple, allegedly circumventing official auditing and decision-making channels. 

They said the SIT was also seeking Mr. Rajeevaru’s passport details for detailing his foreign travel for private pujas at Mr. Potti’s behest on the premises of wealthy Ayyappa devotees living abroad.