6 months ago
2
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala golden theft conducted a prolonged inspection astatine the backstage residence of Kandararu Rajeevaru, elder Tantri (chief priest) of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, successful Chengannur, Alappuzha, connected Saturday. He was arrested connected Friday successful transportation with the Ayyappa temple golden theft case.
Forensic experts, accredited golden appraisers, constabulary videographers, cyber constabulary personnel, and papers experts accompanied the team. Officials said the SIT reportedly focussed connected creating an inventory of artefacts, including golden ornaments, successful Mr. Rajeevaru’s possession to audit their provenance and confiscate the objects, including slope statements and ineligible documents, pertaining to the case.
Officials said the SIT was besides tracking the fiscal way relating to Mr. Rajeevaru’s decades-long transactions with Unnikrishnan Potti, the premier accused successful 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” determination to manus implicit the temple’s gold-plated copper panels to Mr. Potti, ostensibly for restoration, successful 2019, thereby creating an accidental for their transgression misappropriation.
Private pujas
Officials signalled that the SIT mightiness besides indict individuals, including celebrities, who chartered the spiritual artefacts from Mr. Potti for backstage pujas connected their residences and concern premises, connected charges of harbouring oregon dishonestly receiving stolen spot nether Sections 411 and 414 of the Indian Penal Code.
The SIT recovered that Mr. Rajeevaru fell wrong the explanation of a nationalist servant connected the ground that helium received an honorarium from the TDB.
Hence, officials said the anti-corruption enquiry into the main clergyman would entail examining whether helium amassed wealthiness beyond his known sources of income. Moreover, they noted that the SIT was obligated to walk connected its findings to the Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating the money-laundering space successful the case, arsenic “third-party” information.
They noted that the SIT had alleged successful tribunal filings that Mr. Rajeevaru had tagged Mr. Potti on to the Sabarimala temple arsenic an adjutant successful 2007, opening the doorway for the second to summation traction with the successive TDB and the temple’s priestly orthodoxy.
Officials said the SIT had recieved incriminating statements from different accused successful the case, a bulk of them TDB officials, that Mr. Potti had allegedly utilized his power with Mr. Rajeevaru to rise backstage funds from affluent donors, ostensibly for peculiar poojas and important repairs successful the temple, allegedly circumventing authoritative auditing and decision-making channels.
They said the SIT was besides seeking Mr. Rajeevaru’s passport details for detailing his overseas question for backstage pujas astatine Mr. Potti’s behest connected the premises of affluent Ayyappa devotees surviving abroad.
