Kerala: Sabarimala Milma Ghee Scam probe includes Tranvancore Devaswom Board

Devaswom Minister K. Muraleedharan noted serious lapses in the ghee fraud and instructed the Devaswom Commissioner to provide a detailed report.

Milma is the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, a state government cooperative society formed to promote milk production, procurement, processing, and marketing in the state

The probe intensified after it was discovered that substandard ghee had been delivered to Sabarimala instead of the original Milma ghee. The minister’s directive came from the view that the Devaswom Board shared responsibility for the transaction, along with Milma.

The Commissioner will look into the period during which the inferior ghee was supplied to Sabarimala.

Milma ghee scam: Premium Milma ghee meant for Sabarimala was allegedly replaced with lower-quality ghee from Tamil Nadu, while the original stock was sold separately at ₹720 per litre, raking in illegal profits of over ₹85 lakh.

During the Mandalam season from November 2025 to January 2026, more than 35,000 ghee packets were sold off the books, causing losses of around ₹36.3 lakh. Of the 89,300 packets sent to counters, only 75,450 were recorded, leaving 13,679 unaccounted for, and another 22,565 packets reportedly went missing from storage. Reports point to possible collusion between Milma governing committee members and officials of the Pathanamthitta dairy unit.

Employees at Sabarimala counters, including priests and special officers, have been accused of holding back sales proceeds instead of remitting them to the Travancore Devaswom Board. Dairy Development Minister Bindu Krishna has ordered a separate inquiry led by the Joint Director, even as vigilance has already launched its own investigation.

She claimed that nothing in Milma happens without the awareness of its Left-controlled governing body. Her remarks follow reports suggesting a deliberate effort to protect Shine Joseph, the Milma official implicated in the ghee sale scandal.

Amid the ongoing investigation, Joseph tried to resign, but the Milma Managing Director and the government representative opposed it, saying it shouldn’t be accepted while he faced serious charges. Despite this, the Left governing body overruled their objection and let him step down. It later came to light that Joseph had broken rules by recommending and approving a tender, adding more fuel to the controversy.