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The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has suspended an officer in connection with the alleged theft of gold offerings at the Sabarimala Sree Sasta Temple. Murari Babu, who served as the temple’s administrative officer in 2019, was suspended after an internal inquiry revealed that he had listed ‘gold-cladded plates’ as ‘copper plates’ in official documents prepared before temple assets were sent for repair that year.
Murari, currently serving as Devaswom Deputy Commissioner in Haripad, is the first TDB official to face disciplinary action in the controversy, which surfaced following the intervention of the Kerala High Court in mid-September. The court has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe whether gold used for cladding the Dwarapalakas (temple guards) and Peedam (pedestal) was misappropriated under the guise of renovation.
In 2019, Murari was responsible for preparing the mahazar (inventory report) that recorded the gold-cladded plates as copper. The document was drawn up before handing over valuables weighing around 40 kg to a Chennai-based firm for gold plating through a sponsor named Unnikrishnan Potti. The issue resurfaced after the TDB initiated another round of gold cladding work this month through the same sponsor.
Speaking to the media on October 7, Murari defended his actions, stating that he had recorded the base metal as copper based on the smith’s assessment. “If I had documented it as gold cladding, we would have had to supply 42 kg of gold. Copper was the base metal,” he said.
He also stated that, apart from the Dwarapalaka and Peedam, the door frame of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) was also sent for gold plating in 2019.
Several parts of the temple, including its roof, the Sreekovil doors, and the Dwarapalakas, were originally gold-cladded using about 30 kg of gold sponsored by businessman Vijay Mallya in 1999. Although discrepancies in weight were noted after the 2019 repairs, the valuables were again handed over to Unnikrishnan, a Bengaluru-based Malayali, this month. Around 1.5 kg of gold was reportedly used for cladding the Dwarapalakas, yet the 2019 mahazar continued to describe the items as copper.
The Kerala High Court has directed a special investigation team (SIT), led by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) H Venkatesh, to investigate the matter in detail.