Minister alleges Devaswom officials’ role in ghee scam

Thiruvananthapuram Kerala Devaswom Minister K. Muraleedharan has alleged that some officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board were involved in the alleged diversion of ghee meant for the Sabarimala temple. He said the investigation would continue to identify everyone responsible. The case concerns the alleged diversion of 11,000 litres of Milma ghee intended for the hill shrine and its replacement with a cheaper product. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has estimated that the alleged irregularity caused a loss of around ₹2.5 crore to the board. Muraleedharan said the alleged diversion could not have taken place without the involvement of certain officials. He added that the state government was closely monitoring the case and that the Travancore Devaswom Board was cooperating with the investigation. The VACB recently arrested transport contractor S.S. Binu, who had been awarded the contract to transport ghee to Sabarimala during the 2025 pilgrimage season. The arrest was the first in the case, which is being investigated following a direction from the Kerala High Court to examine alleged irregularities in the procurement and quality of ghee supplied to the temple. According to investigators, the original ghee was allegedly diverted to two agencies in Tamil Nadu and replaced with a cheaper product supplied to the shrine. The ghee was intended for preparing Aravana payasam, a sweet offering made with rice, jaggery and ghee at the Lord Ayyappa temple. The investigation is continuing to establish how the alleged diversion occurred and whether other individuals were involved. The allegations against the contractor and officials have yet to be established in court.