ED Questions Ex-TDB Official in Sabarimala Temple Gold Probe
The money-laundering inquiry runs parallel to the High Court-monitored police case, signaling a possible expansion of the list of those questioned.
Overview
- Former Travancore Devaswom Board administrative officer Murari Babu appeared at the ED’s Kochi office, where his statement was recorded under PMLA.
- The ED says this is the first round of its questioning in the case after registering a money-laundering probe on January 9.
- Investigators conducted searches at 21 locations across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka last month and reported freezing eight immovable assets and seizing a 100-gram gold bar.
- The agency alleges temple artefacts were misrecorded as copper and moved off-site between 2019 and 2025 to extract gold at private facilities, including Smart Creations and Roddam Jewellers.
- Officials indicate more summons are likely, even for persons not named by the SIT, as the SIT prepares its charge sheet and the High Court considers a petition seeking a CBI probe.