Contractor held for allegedly diverting 11,000 litres of Sabarimala ghee

Vigilance officials arrested transport contractor S S Binu over the alleged diversion of temple-bound Milma ghee. The case raises concerns about procurement safeguards and prasadam ingredient quality at Sabarimala.Image used for representational purposes onlyThiruvananthapuram,Oct 24, 2026 09:22 ISTThe Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested a transport contractor for allegedly diverting 11,000 litres of Milma ghee meant for the Sabarimala temple and replacing it with a cheaper product, Press Trust of India reported.The alleged diversion caused an estimated loss of Rs 2.5 crore to the Travancore Devaswom Board. The arrest is the first in the case, which is being investigated following a Kerala High Court directive to probe alleged irregularities in the procurement and quality of ghee supplied to the temple.Officials told PTI that the arrested contractor, S S Binu, had been awarded the contract to transport the ghee to the hill shrine for the 2025 pilgrimage season. He was summoned for questioning by the agency on Friday and was later arrested.Milma is the brand name of the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation. According to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Travancore Devaswom Board had procured Milma ghee to prepare Aravana payasam, a sweet made with red rice, jaggery and ghee that is offered as prasadam at the Lord Ayyappa temple. The board directly awarded the supply contract to the Pathanamthitta Milma dairy without inviting quotations. The contract to transport the ghee was subsequently given to Binu, officials said.The agency alleged that the original ghee meant for Sabarimala was diverted to two firms in Tamil Nadu and replaced with a cheaper product that was supplied to the shrine. Investigators suspect that Binu used forged documents, including fake invoices, to divert the original consignment to Sri Venkateswara Traders and Leo Traders, both based in Ottanchathiram, Tamil Nadu, officials told PTI. The agency has estimated that the alleged diversion and replacement of the ghee caused a loss of about Rs 2.5 crore to the Travancore Devaswom Board. Further investigation into the case is under way.- Ends