Sabarimala gold theft case: SIT arrests former Devaswom officer B Murari Babu

SIT probing Sabarimala temple gold theft arrests ex-Devaswom officer B Murari Babu in missing gold case linked to Dwarapalaka idols and Sreekovil doors.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the disappearance of gold from the Sabarimala temple has arrested former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) administrative officer B Murari Babu, officials said on Thursday, accoridng to a report by PTI.

Sources told PTI that Babu, who had been suspended from service following the controversy, was taken into custody from his residence in Changanassery on Wednesday night and later shifted to the Crime Branch office in Thiruvananthapuram for questioning.

SIT officials said the arrest was formally recorded at around 10 am on Thursday in the presence of Babu’s relatives, who were later allowed to meet him.

He is expected to be produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Pathanamthitta later in the evening. The investigating team is also likely to seek his custody for detailed interrogation, they added.

Two cases of missing gold

Babu has been named as an accused in two cases related to the disappearance of gold from the gold-clad plates of the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) at Sabarimala.

Investigators said that in 2019, when the prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty proposed electroplating the Dwarapalaka idols, Babu forwarded the proposal to the Travancore Devaswom Board, claiming the gold-clad plates were made of copper. He is also alleged to have repeatedly forwarded a similar proposal from Potty in 2025.

At the time of his suspension, Babu was serving as Deputy Devaswom Commissioner in Haripad, officials confirmed.

Earlier findings point to lapses

A TDB Vigilance inquiry had earlier flagged serious lapses by Babu and seven other officials in the handling of the gold-clad plates handed over to Potty. The preliminary report raised suspicion about possible collusion by certain board officials in the alleged removal of gold from the idols and door frames.

The SIT, acting under the direction of the Kerala High Court, has already arrested Potty, who remains the prime accused in the case.