CHENNAI, INDIA, December 26, 2005: Armed with the high court order granting anticipatory bail, Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswati, on Monday, surrendered before the Mannarkudi Judicial Magistrate court and availed bail in connection with the temple jewelry theft case. The Seer, accompanied by his devotees, surrendered before Magistrate Muralidharan and furnished a copy of Madras High Court order, which granted him anticipatory bail (this is a system used in India where a person can post bail in advance of an expected arrest). On perusing the order, the magistrate granted the Seer bail, after the latter furnished a bond for US$113 and two sureties for the like sum, as conditioned by the high court. The Acharya and seven others feared arrest in connection with the alleged theft of a Sivalingam and valuable jewellery from an ancient Siva temple at Periyakudi in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu. The Acharya, in his petition on December 15, submitted that the prosecuting agency and state machinery, out of spite, had registered a case at Kottur police station, alleging that some property belonging to the temple was stolen and that they had falsely implicated him. The other accused in the case had surrendered before the court a couple of days ago and availed bail.
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