Sabarimala tantri case: 3 accused in judicial remand

Kochi, Aug 3: The three accused in the Sabarimala Tantri Kandararu Mohanararu attack case, including key accused Sobha John, were today remaned in judicial custody till August 17 by the Ernakulam chief judicial magistrate.

Ernakulam CJM P D Sharanghdharan posted an application for the police custody of the accused for hearing tomorrow.

Sobha John and co-accused Anil Kumar and Vijil were produced before the court at 1100 hrs. and after a brief hearing, the magistrate remanded them in judicial custody.

They were then taken to the Ernakulam sub-jail.

The three were arrested by the police yesterday in connection with the July 23 attack on the Sabarimala tantri in Sobha's flat here. They have been accused of robbing the tantri of 40 sovereigns of gold ornaments and trying to extort Rs 30 lakh from him.

Sobha John, in whose house the incident happened, has been described by the police as a key link in an alleged sex racket in the city while Anil Kumar and Vijil were her accomplices.

Sobha was allegedly acting as a pimp and then blackmailing the people that she was supplying the girls to, police said.

In its remand application, police said that as several other co-accused were still at large, alongwith the stolen property, custodial interrogation of these three was essential.

Tantri Kandararu Mohanararu, one of the main priests at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, was sacked by the Travancore Devaswom Board on July 24 as reports of his alleged involvement in a sex racket surfaced.

UNI

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