THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP councilor Girikumar has been granted bail in the Sandeepananda Giri ashram arson case. The bail was granted by the Thiruvananthapuram Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court. Girikumar was arrested by the Crime Branch after it was found that he was involved in the conspiracy to set Sandeepananda Giri's ashram in Kundamankadavu and vehicles on fire. The court will consider the bail plea of Sabari S Nair, the second accused in the case, on May 12.

The crime branch found that Girikumar, the PTP Nagar ward councilor and Thiruvananthapuram district leader of the RSS and BJP, instigated the accused to burn down the ashram and helped destroy the evidence. In 2018, the vehicle in front of the ashram and some parts of the ashram were burnt down. The ashram was set on fire in protest over his public support to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's stance on women's entry into Sabarimala. Girikumar led the march by BJP-RSS workers to the ashram.

Meanwhile, the first accused in the case, Prakash, had committed suicide on January 3, 2022. Prakash's brother Prashanth's complaint about Prakash's suicide had been ignored by the Vilappilsala police. Prashanth, who disclosed this before the media, also lodged a complaint with the Chief Minister. Later an investigation by the crime branch proved to be the turning point in the ashram burning case. Then Sabari, who was accused in several cases, was arrested by the police. His capture led to the arrest of BJP councilor Girikumar.