Gold allegedly stolen from the Sabarimala Temple was used for decorating and renovating flagpoles in other temples, according to a key statement made to investigators by Pankaj Bhandari.
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday stayed the remarks made by the Vigilance Court, Kollam, in its order granting bail to Thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru in connection with the alleged gold theft from the Sabarimala temple.
In a notable shift from its earlier unequivocal support for the entry of women of menstruating age into the famed Sabarimala Temple, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala has told the Supreme Court of India that the issue should be decided only after considering the views of religious scholars and social reformers.
Speaking to the media after visiting Thantri Rajeevaru, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital here, Chandrasekhar said that Thanthri was arrested without an iota of evidence against him.
He revealed that he was the one who advised the Thantri to close the temple when young women arrived to climb the hill shrine and said he assured the Thantri that this would not be a contempt of court.
There are at least 143 petitions before the court against the citizenship law including that from the United Nations Human Rights chief.
The CJI suggested the meeting between opposing sides to fine-tune the issues already suggested by the Sabarimala bench while giving them three weeks to come up with issues to be considered.
The temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa is the most famous and prominent among all the Sastha temples in Kerala, is situated on a hilltop about 4000 feet above sea level in Sabarimala. According to tradition and custom of the temple, women in the age group of 10 to 50 are not allowed to enter the temple.
A bench headed by Justice N V Ramana asked the state government to come up with the legislation by third week of January next year, which should also include the aspects of welfare of pilgrims visiting the holy shrine.
Women police examined the girl's aadhar card and found that she was 12 years old and refused to allow her to proceed further from Pamba to the shrine complex, police said.
