Thiruvananthapuram. The judicial process has taken an important turn in the case of alleged loss of gold related to Sabarimala Temple in Kerala. On one hand, the delay of the investigating agencies in this matter which has been in discussion for a long time is now under question. On the other hand, a decision of the court has changed the direction of the entire matter. A court here on Friday granted legal bail to former Travancore Devaswom Board administrative officer Murari Babu in two cases related to the alleged loss of gold from the Sabarimala temple.
It is being said that this bail was granted because 90 days had passed since Babu’s arrest, but the Special Investigation Team has not yet been able to file charge sheets in both the cases. Let us tell you that Murari Babu is the second accused in the case of alleged disappearance of gold from the gold plates of the idols of Dwarapalaka (protector deity). He is the sixth accused in the case of gold missing from the door frames of Srikovil (sanctum sanctorum). In such a situation, Murari Babu is currently lodged in the special sub-jail of Thiruvananthapuram. It is expected that he will be released by Friday evening.
Murari Babu was arrested in October 2024. The allegation against them is that the main accused Unnikrishnan Potti had proposed electroplating the idols of Dwarapalaka and the doors of Srikovil. Murari Babu forwarded this proposal to the Travancore Devaswom Board. On this basis, he was accused of being involved in a conspiracy. At the time of his arrest, Babu was working as Deputy Devaswom Commissioner in Haripad. He was later suspended.
It is noteworthy that Unnikrishnan Potti has already got statutory bail in the Dwarapalak Murthy case. The SIT has so far made 16 people accused in the Dwarapalak Murthy case and 13 people in the Srikovil door frame case. According to police sources, if there is further delay in filing the charge sheet, other arrested accused can also approach the court and seek statutory bail. However, recently the Kerala High Court has expressed satisfaction over the progress of the investigation and said that an in-depth investigation of the case is going on.