Kollam: In a major setback to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold scam case, the Kollam Vigilance Court on Wednesday granted bail to Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru. As per initial reports, the chief priest obtained bail in two cases related to the alleged misappropriation of gold from the temple doors and Dwarapalaka idols. A detailed court order is awaited.

Interestingly, he is the only accused in the case who managed to secure bail on the 41st day after his arrest.

The SIT had arrested Rajeevaru on January 9 after summoning him for an interrogation in the case. Investigators said he had introduced Unnikrishnan Potty to other accused in the case and that his long-standing association with Potty was corroborated by call data records.

He was the 11th person to be arrested in the case after the Kerala High Court constituted the SIT to probe the alleged loss of gold from the gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) at Sabarimala.

Those named as accused include Unnikrishnan Potty, Roddam Pandurangaiah Naga Govardhan, a jeweller from Ballari in Karnataka, former Travancore Devaswom Board presidents A Padmakumar and N Vasu, former TDB secretary S Jayasree, and Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari.