Thiruvananthapuram: The alleged irregularities in the ghee supplied to the Sabarimala Temple will be probed by the State Crime Branch, Health and Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan said.
The decision follows a report submitted by Devaswom Secretary Rajamanickam, which the minister described as containing ‘shocking findings’. The government will write to the Home Department seeking a Crime Branch investigation.
“The probe should be completed in a time-bound manner, and those responsible must be brought to justice,” Muraleedharan said, describing the incident as one of criminal negligence.
He said the issue went beyond food adulteration, alleging that it amounted to deceiving and exploiting devotees while undermining their faith.
For the 2025–26 period, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) had signed an agreement with Milma for the supply of 1.65 lakh litres of ghee. Of this, 1.5 lakh litres have been supplied, while the remaining quantity is yet to be delivered.
According to the minister, the ghee supplied to Sabarimala arrived in 30 batches of 5,000 litres each. So far, only six batches have been tested, and all were found to be substandard.
Muraleedharan said the Crime Branch should examine the entire supply chain, including how the ghee was transported from Milma to Sabarimala, and determine whether the alleged adulteration occurred before or after the consignments reached the temple.
To prevent similar incidents in future, the government has decided to conduct mandatory quality checks for every batch of ghee used at Sabarimala.
The minister also announced stricter monitoring of the procurement process. Ghee sourced from outside suppliers will be digitally tracked from the manufacturing unit to its destination, with a digital movement register maintained throughout the supply chain.
