Sabarimala ghee case: contractor held for swapping Aravana ghee

Kerala's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has made the first arrest in an investigation into ghee meant for the Sabarimala temple, where the ghee is used to prepare the Aravana prasadam. Transport contractor S.S. Binu was arrested on the weekend of October 24-25, 2026, and a Vigilance court in Kollam remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody. According to the VACB, about 11,040 kg of ghee collected from the Pathanamthitta dairy of Milma, Kerala's cooperative milk brand, was diverted to traders in Tamil Nadu and replaced with cheaper, lower-quality ghee before it reached the temple. The allegations have not yet been tested in court.

Ghee is not a minor item at Sabarimala. It is the base of Aravana payasam, the dark, sweet offering made from rice, jaggery and ghee that pilgrims carry home in tins every season. For millions of devotees the prasadam is sacred, and it is also a food product eaten by families, children and the elderly. When investigators say that genuine cooperative ghee was swapped for a cheaper product on the way to the temple kitchen, the concern is two-fold: a breach of faith, and a question about what actually went into a food that so many people eat.

The case also fits a wider pattern seen across India this festival season. Food safety officials in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and other states have seized and tested ghee and found unsafe or substandard samples, and ghee is one of the foods most often adulterated because it is costly and hard for a buyer to check by eye. Temples are some of the largest bulk buyers of ghee in the country, and their kitchens depend on a supply chain that runs from the dairy, through a transporter, to the store room. The Sabarimala allegations point to the middle link, transport, as a weak spot.

There is a procurement question as well. Earlier reports on the same probe said the Devaswom Board had bought ghee from Milma at a higher rate than a lower bid from a Tamil Nadu firm, and that the supply contract was given without inviting quotations. Those claims are part of the wider investigation and are separate from the transport diversion alleged against the contractor. Former board office-bearers have been named in the procurement case, according to reports; none of the allegations has been proved.

For readers, the practical lesson is about traceability. A bulk buyer can only be sure of what reaches its kitchen if the quantity and quality leaving the dairy are matched with what arrives. The VACB's account suggests that paperwork, through forged invoices and changed vehicle numbers, was where the alleged swap was hidden.

Short-term: The VACB is expected to question others linked to the supply chain, and the minister has said officials' roles will be examined. The Devaswom Board faces pressure to show that ghee for the coming season is genuine.

Long-term: The case could lead to tighter checks on temple food supplies, such as sealed and tracked consignments, testing of ghee at the point of receipt, and open tendering for bulk purchases.

Who is affected: Sabarimala pilgrims who buy Aravana prasadam; the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the temple; Milma and its dairy farmers, whose brand was used; and ghee traders in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

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