Former Devaswom Officer Murari Babu Granted Bail in Sabarimala Gold Scam

Kollam: The Kollam Vigilance Court has granted bail to Murari Babu, the former Administrative Officer of the Devaswom Board, who was in remand in connection with the Sabarimala gold scam case. The court granted bail after he completed 90 days in custody.

Murari Babu had also submitted bail applications in two cases related to the ‘Dwarapalaka Pali’ (guardian deity plating) and ‘Kattilappali’ (door frame plating) at Sabarimala. The court granted him statutory bail as he had completed 90 days of remand, with strict conditions.

Murari Babu is the first accused in the Sabarimala gold scam case to be released on bail. The first accused in the case, Unnikrishnan Potti, had previously received statutory bail in the ‘Dwarapalaka’ case, but he remains in remand as 90 days have not yet been completed in the ‘Kattilappali’ case.

Meanwhile, the court extended the remand period of another accused, Thanthri Kandararu Rajeevar, by 14 days. The court will consider the Thanthri’s bail application on January 28. Earlier, former Devaswom Board President N. Vasu had suffered a setback in connection with the case. His bail application was rejected by the Supreme Court, which also severely criticized him.