New twist in Sabarimala row

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The case of the former tantric of Sabarimala, in soup after the police revealed his frequent visits to a woman of doubtful character in Kochi last week, got a new turn with the arrest of a woman and two accomplices on Wednesday. A local court on Thursday remanded the trio, accused of conspiring to blackmail the tantric, till a fortnight.

Kandararu Mohanaru, second in line in a family destined to look after the religious affairs in Sabarimala, got a reprieve with the arrest of a woman who he alleged was behind a conspiracy to defame him. Mohanaru was relieved of his duties in the forest shrine after the police revealed that the holy man had some unholy visits to a prostitute.

The police arrested Shobha John and two accomplices in Kochi after the investigating team got hold of evidence that the woman had conspired to implicate Mohanaru in a sex scandal. The woman had arranged a rendezvous for Mohanaru and another woman named Shantha in her flat and let a gang of goons in, who took photos of the couple in compromising positions on June 23.

Mohanaru and his lawyes had hinted at a conspiracy angle. After the police refuted the tantric’s complaint of abduction, he said he had gone to the flat to look for a servant. Mohanaru even went to the extent of accusing the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the shrine, of trying to defame him.