The Kerala government has ordered a Crime Branch investigation into the alleged irregularities in the supply of ghee to the Sabarimala temple after a preliminary inquiry reportedly uncovered serious lapses, as reported in The New Indian Express.
Health and Devaswom Minister K. Muraleedharan said the decision was taken after the report submitted by Devaswom Secretary M.G. Rajamanickam on the allegations related to the ghee supply revealed disturbing findings. He said the government had written to the Home Department seeking a Crime Branch probe into the matter.
According to the minister, the alleged lapses in the supply of ghee to Sabarimala amounted to criminal negligence. He said the investigation would be conducted within a fixed timeframe and would identify those responsible so that appropriate legal action could be initiated.
Muraleedharan said the Travancore Devaswom Board had entered into an agreement with Milma for the supply of 1.65 lakh litres of ghee during the 2025-26 period. He said that of the total contracted quantity, 1.5 lakh litres had already been supplied in 30 consignments of 5,000 litres each, while the remaining quantity was yet to be delivered.
He further stated that only six of the supplied consignments had undergone quality testing so far and that all six samples had reportedly failed to meet the required standards. He said the issue was not limited to food adulteration but also involved allegations of cheating devotees by supplying substandard ghee for use at the hill shrine.
The minister also said the Crime Branch would examine the entire transportation and supply chain to determine whether the alleged irregularities occurred before the ghee reached Sabarimala or after its delivery to the temple.
Muraleedharan said the government would introduce stricter safeguards to prevent similar incidents in the future. He said every batch of ghee supplied to Sabarimala would undergo mandatory quality testing. In cases where ghee is procured from external suppliers, its movement would be digitally tracked from the manufacturing unit to the delivery point through a digital movement register maintained across the supply chain.
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