Sabarimala row turns murkier

Thiruvanthapuram: The Sabarimala controversy has got murkier. From an issue of the temple and faith, it is now a story of sex, sleaze and blackmail.

Police on Thursday arrested Shoba John, a woman allegedly engaged in supplying call girls along with two of her accomplices and for assaulting and blackmailing Thantri Kantaru Mohanaru. The three have been remanded to judicial custody.

The thantri claims he was manhandled by the trio when he visited Shoba John's flat, ostensibly in search of a servant. But many unanswered questions remain.

"Maybe there are many conspiracies. The thantri is a part of a conspiracy. Then there is another conspiracy will be against him. So, all these conspiracies will be brought to light and all the guilty will be brought to book and punished," says Minister for Devaswom, G Sudhakaran.

Now, questions are being raised as to what would Shoba have gained from blackmailing the thantri. Is she only a part of a larger conspiracy? Shoba's list of contacts, which is now with the Crime Branch, will shed some light on this.

Meanwhile, the thantri's lawyer has challenged the Travancore Dewaswom Board's decision to remove him from his post following the scandal.

"The removal of the thantri by the Dewaswom Board will not stand. Because it is a hereditary right which should be determined by the senior thantri," the thantri's lawyer, Krishnamurthy claims.

For the Dewaswom Board, taking back a tarnished priest might prove very costly. But it doesn't rule out the chances of a re-think if the thantri proves himself innocent.

"There was an enquiry by one responsible police officer and he revealed certain things regarding the past activities of the thantri. And all those things made a bad picture regarding thantris in the minds of devotees. So that should be removed. Only after that we can think of him," says President of Travancore Devaswom Board, advocate Raman Nair.

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