Former Sabarimala administrative officer Murari Babu dies

KOTTAYAM: Former Sabarimala administrative officer B Murari Babu died early Saturday morning. He was 54. He was undergoing treatment for cancer at a private hospital in Kochi. He will be laid to rest this evening at 3 pm in the compound of his house. He is a native of Changanassery in Kottayam.

Murari Babu was an accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case. He is the second accused in the case of stealing gold from the Dwarapalaka idols of the sreekovil in 2019. He is the sixth accused in the door frames case. Babu, who was arrested in the case, was granted statutory bail after 90 days.

Murari Babu was an administrative officer in Sabarimala in 2019. Murari Babu, who knew that the sreekovil was covered in gold in 1998, incorrectly recorded the frames as copper in 2019 and 2024. It was Murari Babu who recommended to the devaswom board last year that Unnikrishnan Potty, the first accused be assigned to plate the gold.

He became an employee of the Travancore Devaswom Board after quitting his police job. He got a job in the police in 1994. His first training was in Kannur as a constable.

However, he did not complete his training. He became an employee of the devaswom board in 1997. He started as an assistant to a high-ranking official in the board. He later got a permanent appointment as a clerk at the Ettumanoor temple.