Former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) administrative officer Murari Babu was questioned for hours at the Kochi branch of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case on Tuesday.
Mr. Babu, who arrived in the morning, was released late in the evening. The agency is likely to question other accused in the case in the coming days. The Special Investigation Team of the state police has charged him as the second accused in the alleged theft of gold from the Dwarapalaka statues. He was also the sixth accused in another case related to the theft of gold from the doorpost of the sanctum sanctorum temple.
He was suspended from service and arrested on 23 October 2025. He was arrested from his residence in Perunna after the SIT found that he had allegedly falsely recorded the gold plates on the idol as copper plates.
The investigation further revealed that the gold plates were allegedly handed over to the main accused Unnikrishnan Potti in the guise of renovation at the intervention of Mr. Baba. During the investigation, his role in the case of the door frame was also discovered, which led to further court proceedings.
Mr Babu is accused of dishonestly recommending repairs to the gilded copper enclosures of the Dwarapalaka idols and the gilded copper plates on the north and south pillars when he served as the administrative officer of Sabarimala in 2019.
The Kollam vigilance court granted him bail in both cases on January 23 after considering the defense that the accused was eligible for bail as the SIT had not filed a charge sheet even 92 days after his arrest.
Published – 03 Feb 2026 20:30 IST