Another scam in Sabarimala; 35 lakh fraud found in ‘Adiya Sishtam Ghee’ sale
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Kochi: Soon after the exposure of the high-profile gold theft case, another serious financial irregularity has come to light, this time involving the sale of Adiya Sishtam Ghee, a sacred offering sold to devotees.
Preliminary findings indicate that nearly ₹35 lakh was allegedly misappropriated within a span of less than two months from the sale of the ghee, which constitutes a significant source of revenue for the Travancore Devaswom Board. Based on the report submitted by the Sabarimala Special Commissioner, the Kerala High Court ordered a Vigilance inquiry after directing that a case be registered.
The court instructed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to form a team of competent and impartial officers to investigate the matter. According to disclosures made by the Board’s chief vigilance and security officer, the sale proceeds from 16,628 packets of ghee sold at the counter located in the Maramath Building were not credited to the Devaswom account, TNIE reported.
The court noted that the Board had assigned Preman, a resident of Anugraha Veedu in Palakkad, the responsibility of packing Adiya Sishtam Ghee for sale at various counters. It was stated that the contractor was paid ₹0.20 per packet for the service, while the Devaswom Board provided the entire packing infrastructure, including the machinery, materials and the ghee.
It was further pointed out that ghee is stored in a steel tank with a capacity of 700 litres and filled into packets using a motor, with the contractor required to pack 100 ml per packet. These packets are sold to devotees at ₹100 each. The court observed that similar packing systems are followed for other items such as turmeric, kumkum and holy ash.
An inspection reportedly revealed that between November 17 and December 26, 2025, the contractor packed 3,52,050 packets of 100 ml each, which were handed over to the Temple Special Officer for sale. Of these, about 89,300 packets were sold from the Maramath Building counter over various days.
Out of the total sold, 143 packets were found damaged, while only 28 packets remained at the counter as of December 27, 2025. After accounting for the damaged packets and the remaining stock, the court said that the sale proceeds for 89,129 packets should have been remitted to the Devaswom Board. However, records showed that money was deposited only for 75,450 packets.
The court observed that the proceeds from 13,679 packets, amounting to ₹13,67,900, were not remitted, describing the scale of the shortfall over such a brief period as alarming and not something that could be dismissed as a mere accounting error.
The court also noted that serious allegations had been raised against Sunil Kumar Potti, who was reported to have worked during the second, third and fifth phases of the period under scrutiny.