KOCHI: Former administrative officer of Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple Murari Babu, 54, who was arrested by the Special Investigation Team in connection with the gold misappropriation case, died in Kochi on Saturday.
Murari Babu, a native of Perunna, near Changanassery in Kottayam district, was undergoing treatment at the Amrita Hospital in Kochi. According to hospital authorities the death occurred around 12.48 am and the body was handed over to the family members. The funeral will be held on the premises of his house at Perunna at 3 pm on Saturday.
Murari Babu of Thekkedath House in Perunna had started his career as a police officer in 1994. However, he later resigned from the service and joined the Travancore Devaswom Board as a clerk in 1997. He had served as Devaswom officer at Vaikom, Ettumanoor and Thirunakkara temples.
Murari Babu was appointed as the Administrative officer of Sabarimala Temple in 2019 and he continued in the post till 2024. The SIT that probed the Sabarimala Gold misappropriation case had arraigned Murari Babu as the second accused in the case. The team found that it was Babu who mentioned the gold claded Dwarapalaka idols as copper plates in the recommendation for gold plating of the structures. His role in facilitating the decision to hand over the gold clad Dwarapalaka coverings to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti has also been established.
Murari Babu, who was arrested by the Special Investigation team on October 25, 2025, had spent 90 days in the jail. The Kollam Vigilance Court had granted him bail as the SIT failed to submit the chargesheet even 90 days after his arrest. The SIT had found that he had a role in handing over of the door frames of the Sreekovil or sanctum sanctorum to Unnikrishnan Potti for gold plating.
Babu was serving as the Deputy Devaswom Commissioner at Haripad in Alappuzha district when he was arrested by the SIT. Subsequently, the TDB suspended him from service.
Murari Babu had earlier served as the vice president of NSS Karayogam at Perunna. However, the NSS leadership made him resign from the post after he as arraigned an accused in the Sabarimala Gold theft case.
