Sabarimala gold theft case: Vigilance court grants one-day SIT custody of tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru

A Vigilance court in Kollam, Kerala, on Thursday (January 22, 2026) granted the special investigation team (SIT) one-day custody of Sabarimala tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru as part of the probe into the temple gold loss case.

Kollam Vigilance Court Judge Mohit C.S. allowed the SIT plea and granted custody of Mr. Rajeevaru in connection with the case related to the loss of gold from the doorframe of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum).

Mr. Rajeevaru is the 13th accused in the case. He was later shifted to the SIT office in Thiruvananthapuram for interrogation.

This is the first time the SIT has sought Mr. Rajeevaru’s custody since his arrest on January 9.

SIT sources said they would also file a petition seeking the custody of the tantri in another case related to the loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols, in which he is the 16th accused.

Meanwhile, the court is scheduled to pronounce its order on Friday on the bail petitions filed by former Sabarimala administrative officer B Murari Babu in both cases.

The court heard the bail pleas on Thursday and reserved its orders.

The SIT was constituted following directions issued by a division bench of the Kerala High Court, which recently ordered a comprehensive probe based on findings from chemical analysis of samples collected from Sabarimala.

The High Court had also directed the SIT to file a status report by February 9.