Sabarimala ghee scam: Kerala High Court fixes 45-day probe deadline; temple staff among 33 booked

Kochi: The Vigilance probe into the alleged Sabarimala ghee scam has widened with 33 people named as accused, even as the Kerala High Court has fixed a 45-day deadline to complete the investigation and demanded systemic reforms from the Travancore Devaswom Board.

The vigilance wing has informed the Kerala High Court that 33 persons — including three special officers attached to the temple and 30 counter staff — have been booked in connection with the alleged diversion of nearly Rs 21.39 lakh from the sale of ‘aadiya sishtam ghee’ at the Sabarimala Temple.

While hearing the matter, the court took serious note of what it described as glaring lapses in oversight by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). The bench observed that records relating to the distribution of ghee packets were maintained in informal notebooks riddled with overwriting and corrections, instead of being entered into a proper accounting system.

A Division Bench comprising Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar directed the vigilance authorities to wrap up the probe within 45 days. The court also instructed the Devaswom Board to establish a transparent and accountable financial mechanism for managing temple offerings and to submit a comprehensive action plan by February 27. 

ANI