Sabarimala ghee diversion: Second arrest as VACB nabs TDB staffer

Thiruvananthapuram, The VACB on Friday arrested an employee of the TDB in connection with alleged irregularities in the supply of ghee to the Sabarimala temple during the 2025 pilgrimage season, officials said.

According to Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau officials, Jayalal was deployed at the Travancore Devaswom Board store manager's office during the last pilgrimage season.

He is the second person to be arrested in the case. The agency had earlier arrested contractor S S Binu, who was awarded the contract to transport Milma ghee from the dairy to the Sabarimala shrine.

According to the VACB, Binu allegedly diverted around 11,000 litres of ghee meant for the temple to two agencies in Tamil Nadu and replaced it with a cheaper product, causing an estimated loss of ₹2.5 crore to the TDB.

The investigation found that records maintained at the Sabarimala store showed that the entire quantity of ghee had been delivered to the shrine. However, the substitute product allegedly supplied in place of the diverted stock did not reach Sabarimala in its entirety, officials said.

The VACB has alleged that Jayalal colluded with Binu by making entries in the registers to show that the ghee had been received at the shrine, even though the entire quantity had not been delivered.

He allegedly received a share of the contractor's earnings from the diversion, officials said.

Jayalal belongs to the TDB wing responsible for music and musical instruments and had been deployed at the store manager's office during the pilgrimage season, officials said.

The VACB team summoned him to its office, where his arrest was formally recorded, they said.

He will be produced before the Vigilance court in Kollam, officials said.

The VACB's Special Investigation Unit is probing the alleged irregularities following a directive from the Kerala High Court to investigate the procurement and quality of ghee supplied to the temple.

The TDB had procured Milma ghee from the Pathanamthitta dairy of the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation for preparing 'Aravana payasam', a rice-and-jaggery-based sweet prasadam offered at the Lord Ayyappa temple.

The board had directly awarded the supply contract to the dairy without inviting quotations, following which the transportation contract was awarded to Binu, officials said.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.