Accused in tantri attack remanded to jail till Aug 22

Kochi, Aug 8 (UNI) The three accused in the Sabarimala Tantri Kandararu Mohanararu attack case, including prime accused Sobha John, were today remanded in judicial custody till August 22 by the Ernakulam chief judicial magistrate.

Sobha John and co-accused Anil Kumar and Vigil were produced before Ernakulam CJM P D Sharanghadharan this morning after their four-day police remand ended.

The magistrate ordered them to be lodged in the Ernakulam sub-jail till August 22.

The bail applications of the accused will be heard this afternoon.

Police have registered a case against the accused under IPC sections 395 (robbery) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

The three were arrested on August two in connection with the July 23 attack on the Sabarimala tantri in Sobha's flat here.

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

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.

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