Sabarimala gold heist: SIT arrests suspended TDB official

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala temple gold heist arrested suspended Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officer Murari Babu on Thursday. He’s the second accused to be taken into custody in this high-profile case.

Murari Babu was picked up from his residence in Perunna, Kottayam, late Wednesday night and brought to Thiruvananthapuram. After extensive questioning at the Crime Branch office, the SIT formally recorded his arrest.

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Earlier, the SIT had arrested Unnikrishnan Pottiy, the prime accused in the heist. The investigation team believes that more crucial leads regarding the Sabarimala gold heist can be obtained by questioning him in custody.

Murari, suspended by the TDB pending inquiry, is charged with a serious mistake: he wrongly recorded the gold-plated Dwarapalaka sculptures at the Sabarimala shrine as copper plates.

On June 17, 2019,Murari Babu recorded that the gold-plated Dwarapalaka sculptures in front of the shrine are made of copper and gave them to the Sabarimala executive officer.

Unnikrishnan Pottiy then took these sculptures for “gold plating.” In 2024, Murari again recommended maintenance of the sculptures and their handover to Unnikrishnan.

Shockingly, despite knowing that these sculptures and door frames were actually gold-plated with gold donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya, Murari officially reported them as copper in his records and reports.

It is alleged that Murari Babu knew the Dwarapalaka sculptures and door frames in front of the shrine were plated with gold using gold donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya, yet he stated in the mahasar and report that they were made of copper.