Second Arrest in Sabarimala Gold Theft Case; Devaswom Officer Murari Babu Apprehended

Former Devaswom Board Administrative Officer B. Murari Babu has been arrested in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case. He was taken into custody by a special investigation team (SIT) from his residence in Perunna around 10 PM last night. Murari Babu is identified as the second accused in the ongoing investigation. He has been transported to Thiruvananthapuram for further questioning, with authorities anticipating crucial information from him regarding the case.

The arrest follows that of the first accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, who was apprehended last week. The SIT, which is probing alleged irregularities related to the theft of gold from the Dwajapalakha idols at the Sabarimala Temple, submitted an interim report to the Kerala High Court on Tuesday, October 21.

SP S. Sasidharan, appointed by the High Court to lead the investigation earlier this month, presented the report in a sealed cover to a division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and Justice K.V. Jayakumar, who heard the case in-camera.

The High Court had previously ordered the registration of a case concerning the ‘missing’ gold, a directive issued after Unnikrishnan Potti sent the idols to a Chennai firm for electroplating. This order came shortly after the Vigilance wing of the Travancore Devaswom Board submitted its own report. The court further mandated the formation of a special investigation team to examine manufacturing irregularities associated with the gold plating.

In their efforts to gather evidence, the SIT conducted a raid on the residence of Unnikrishnan Potti, the primary accused, to seize documents and other pertinent evidence related to the misappropriated gold. The remand report, filed in the Magistrate Court in Ranni, Pathanamthitta, charges Unnikrishnan Potti along with nine current and retired Devaswom Board members with conspiracy, theft, illegal financial gain, and causing financial loss to the temple.

The SIT’s findings indicate that Unnikrishnan Potti, who served as an assistant to the temple Tantri from 2004 to 2008, was aware of the substantial amount of gold present in the plating donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998.