Now Reading: Kerala SIT books three, including former TDB chief, in Sabarimala ghee case
-
01
Kerala SIT books three, including former TDB chief, in Sabarimala ghee case
Kerala SIT books three, including former TDB chief, in Sabarimala ghee case
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Kerala High Court has registered an FIR against former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth, former board member A Ajikumar, and former…
The Story in Brief
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Kerala High Court has registered an FIR against former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth, former board member A Ajikumar, and former administrative officer Murari Babu over alleged irregularities in the supply of Milma ghee to Sabarimala temple. Babu died in June. The FIR was submitted before the Vigilance Court in Kollam.
The case centres on the TDB's decision to buy 1.65 lakh litres of ghee from the state dairy cooperative Milma at Rs 510 per litre for the 2025-26 pilgrimage season, bypassing an e-tender process. The lowest bidder had quoted Rs 369 per litre, and the special commissioner's report raised concerns about the quality and actual quantity supplied. A separate SIT is probing the earlier Sabarimala gold loss case, in which Prasanth and Ajikumar have been arrested.
The Indian Opinion
The Sabarimala ghee scandal adds to a string of corruption allegations against the TDB's previous leadership, but narratives that paint this as a simple case of greed miss the institutional failures at play. Why did senior officials ignore objections from the special commissioner and abandon a transparent e-tender process? And how did the board approve a contract worth over Rs 8.4 crore without verifying whether Milma's higher price was justified? The SIT's progress report, due in a month, will be the real test, it must establish whether the decision was merely incompetent or criminally motivated, and whether the missing quantity ended up in the temple or elsewhere.
Sources (2): deccanherald.com, hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
