Unaccounted money found in Tantri’s accounts; SIT opposes bail, order on Feb 18
The SIT informed the court that it had submitted details of the Tantri’s financial sources, including deposits of ₹2.05 crore in his name and ₹62 lakh in his wife’s name, found in a private financial institution.
The SIT informed the court that it had submitted details of the Tantri’s financial sources, including deposits of ₹2.05 crore in his name and ₹62 lakh in his wife’s name, found in a private financial institution.
The SIT informed the court that it had submitted details of the Tantri’s financial sources, including deposits of ₹2.05 crore in his name and ₹62 lakh in his wife’s name, found in a private financial institution.
Kollam: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case on Tuesday opposed the bail plea of Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru before the Kollam Vigilance Court, citing the discovery of unaccounted money in his and his family members’ accounts.
The SIT informed the court that it had submitted details of the Tantri’s financial sources, including deposits of ₹2.05 crore in his name and ₹62 lakh in his wife’s name, found in a private financial institution that had not been reported to the Income Tax Department. Investigations into similar transactions were ongoing, the SIT said, arguing that bail should not be granted at this stage.
The probe team told the court that the Tantri had no declared source of income other than earnings from poojas and other religious rites. However, it alleged that unaccounted money had been deposited in a financial institution as early as 2018. The institution later went into insolvency proceedings, but the Tantri did not file a claim, allegedly because he could not explain the source of the funds. The SIT described this as highly suspicious and said the funds could be linked to transactions involving misappropriated gold.
The SIT, represented by Public Prosecutor Siju Rajan, further informed the court that during 2024–25, the Tantri had received ₹7.5 lakh from the Devaswom Board. On this basis, it argued that he fell within the ambit of the Prevention of Corruption Act, treating him as a public servant.
Rajeevaru is the 16th accused in the case related to the alleged loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the 13th accused in the case pertaining to the alleged loss of gold from the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum).
Arguments on the Tantri’s bail pleas in the two related cases have been completed, and the court is scheduled to pronounce its order on February 18. The defence opposed the prosecution’s submissions.
Meanwhile, arguments on the bail plea of another accused, N Vasu, were completed on Tuesday, and he is likely to be granted statutory bail on Wednesday. Other accused in the case, including Unnikrishnan Potty, Murari Babu, Sudheesh Kumar, and S Sreekumar, have already been granted bail.