Sabarimala Gold Missing Case: Former Administrative Officer Murari Babu Arrested

Pathanamthitta: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the missing gold from Sabarimala temple has arrested former administrative officer B. Murari Babu. According to sources, he was taken into custody from his residence in Changanassery on Wednesday night.
Babu, who was earlier suspended by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) after the controversy over missing gold, was brought to the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram for questioning. His relatives reached the office on Thursday morning. Around 10 a.m., the SIT officially recorded his arrest and informed a family member about the procedure before allowing them to meet him.
Officials said Babu will be produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Pathanamthitta by evening. The SIT is likely to seek his custody for detailed interrogation.
Babu faces charges in two separate cases related to the disappearance of gold from the gold-plated panels of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) of the Sabarimala temple.
In 2019, when prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty proposed electroplating the Dwarapalaka idols to the Travancore Devaswom Board, Babu had forwarded the proposal, stating that the existing gold-plated plates were made of copper. He reportedly did the same when Potty submitted a similar proposal again in 2025.
At the time of his suspension, Babu was serving as Deputy Devaswom Commissioner in Haripad. A preliminary inquiry by the TDB Vigilance had raised doubts about the involvement of several board officials, including Babu, in the disappearance of the gold. The Vigilance report also noted serious lapses by Babu and seven other officials in the process of handing over the gold-clad plates to Potty.
The Kerala High Court had directed the SIT to take over the investigation, and the team has already arrested Unnikrishnan Potty, the main accused in the case.